TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

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TEACHING CHILDREN 
TO STUDY 

THE GROUP SYSTEM APPLIED 



OLIVE M. JONES 

v. 

PRINCIPAL, PUBLIC SCHOOL 120 



AND 



ELEANOR G. LEARY and AGNES E. QUISH 



TEACHERS, PUBLIC SCHOOL I2Q 
NEW YORK 



Nefo gods 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1909 

All rights reserved 






Copyright, 1906, 1908, 
By " SCHOOL WORK." 

Copyright, 1909, 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1909. 



Noriuoot! -JJiresg 

J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



LIBRARY of CONGRESSl 
Two Cooies Recerved 

Q Copynrnt Entry A 
vlKuS n AAft 1 



PREFACE 

The purpose of this volume is to put forth in 
a practical manner the methods of using the 
Group System so as to secure the accomplish- 
ment of its two great aims: (i) To give the child 
habits of self-reliant study ; (2) to secure for the 
exceptional child, either the abnormally bright or 
the abnormally slow, teaching adapted to his indi- 
vidual needs. No effort has been made to write 
a scientific pedagogical treatise, but rather to pre- 
sent to the class-room teacher a clear and practi- 
cal exposition of the Group System, and definite 
suggestion as to the details of its plans and 
management. 

For four years the writers have been collecting 
suggestions on the subject of the Group System. 
From time to time they have written on this 
subject; first in School Work, in 1906, and later 
in Teachers Magazine, Much of the material 
has been used in lectures by Miss Jones. The 
writers, therefore, feel that it has been thoroughly 



vi PREFACE 

tested as to its truth and practical value. For 
publication in this volume, all the material gath- 
ered has been sifted and revised, according to the 
results of experience in its use, and the best of 
it all selected and explained. 

It would be impossible to mention by name 
the many principals of schools in New York, and 
superintendents and principals of schools in other 
cities, who have given much kindly help and 
suggestion. Especial mention of heartiest thanks 
for much valuable assistance must, however, be 
made to Dr. Andrew W. Edson, Associate City 
Superintendent, and Miss Julia Richman, District 
Superintendent, of schools in New York City, 
and to Miss Elizabeth S. Harris and Miss Mari- 
etta J. Tibbits, Principals of Public Schools 65 

and 137, New York. 

*' O. M. J. 

1909. 



CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTORY 
CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

The Development of the Group System i 

PART I 

THE GROUP SYSTEM IN PRACTICE 

CHAPTER II 
Limitations and Advantages .12 

CHAPTER III 
Schemes of Grouping . . . . . . . 24 

CHAPTER IV 
Classification into Groups . . . . . " '. '34 

CHAPTER V 
The Daily Program "-.'-•'. . 47 

CHAPTER VI 
The Instruction Period 58 

CHAPTER VII 
The Study Period and Seat Work — Preparation and 

Supervision 68 

vii 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VIII 

PAGE 

The Study Period and Seat Work — Practical Man- 
agement 79 

PART II 

PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 

CHAPTER IX 
Reading 86 

CHAPTER X 
Composition, Language, Spelling . . * . .102 

CHAPTER XI 
Arithmetic . . 133 

CHAPTER XII 
History 147 

CHAPTER XIII 
Geography . . 156 

CHAPTER XIV 
Manual Training . . . . . . . .166 

Index . 191 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



CHAPTER I 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GROUP SYSTEM AN 
EVOLUTION 

The phrase made immortal by President Lincoln 
"that government of the people, by the people, for 
the people, shall not perish from the earth," has 
become the expression of an American principle. Education 
On that principle our republic stands. A well- of Amencan 
recognized corollary of that principle is that the men™ 
first requisite for a safe administration of "govern- 
ment of the people, by the people, for the people," 
is education. Only through education can liberty 
be preserved from demagogism, monarchism, or an- 
archism. So rooted is this conviction that through- 
out our land the school system is probably the most 
thoroughly organized department of public work. 

The beginnings on which this system has been its begm- 
built contained no such elaborate machinery as is district 
familiar to us. The "deestrick school " made 



2 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

familiar to us by play and story, had little of ma- 
chinery and little of imposed system. The master 
directed study, the pupils recited one at a time, and 
such actual teaching as was given was individual 
instruction. As the district school grew in numbers, 
the master's time for actual teaching decreased, the 
work degenerated into a mere hearing of lessons, 
its failures, and the child was overburdened with home study, 
work unexplained and little comprehended. To 
remedy these imperfect conditions the graded school 
was invented, and out of that the present school 
system has evolved itself, an enormous machine de- 
vised to educate children with the least waste of 
effort, time, or money. 
The graded Education became organized with definite stages 
leading to definite goals, recognized by teachers 
and pupils, and so arranged that many might be 
engaged in the same work at the same time. The 
system of class instruction had replaced individual 
instruction. Besides the advantage directly aimed 
at and already indicated, some other educative in- 
fluences at once resulted. These were the sub- 
Results for ordination of individual, selfish desires, the appeal 

good and . . . . . 

evil. to emulation, and the rousing of the spirit of com- 

petition. But almost immediately did it become 



THE GROUP SYSTEM AN EVOLUTION 3 

evident that, although much unexpected good had 
accompanied the establishment of the graded school, 
with its system of class instruction, some of the old 
evils of the district school continued to exist. The 
work of the school had become organized, and 
children were classified according to attainments, so 
that there was much slighter degree of difference 
between the best and the poorest children grouped 
in the same room or class ; but lessons were still set 
and heard, rote memorizing of lessons ill taught 
and uncomprehended was the only form of study, 
and the burden of home work was as iniquitous as 
ever. In addition, it was soon learned that attempts 
to enforce a close grading resulted in the directing 
of instruction only to the needs of the majority, that 
this neglect of the needs of the majority caused a 
deadening influence, and that this deadening in- 
fluence manifested itself in the discouragement of 
the brightest and the slowest children and in de- 
creased numbers in the higher grades. 

The inevitable difficulties of the graded school Relief 

t r • sought in £ 

system once realized, relief was sought, at first in reform of 

methods of 

a reform of method, and method was made a matter teaching. 
of scientific study. The teacher's results, i.e. how 
much her pupils know, once tested by rigid examina- 



4 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

tions and considered carefully in marking her rating 
and record, were forgotten in the criticism of how 
she prepared, presented, developed a lesson, ques- 
tions which became so important a part of our 
pedagogical catechism that we forgot that for the 
salvation of the child's soul intellectually, as well as 
morally, there must be much of the self-effort which 
means power. So it was that, instead of relief, 
other new evils followed. We have let our pendu- 
lum swing to the other extreme, and to-day we are 
anticipating and making easy every step, until the 
child has too little independent work to do and is 
unable to work alone. In consequence, he does not 
know how to fix knowledge in his mind for himself ; 
he cannot select essentials ; in a word, he lacks self- 
reliance, and does not know how to do independent 
study. 
Evils still Notwithstanding, then, the wonderful reforms in 

methods of teaching brought about in the last fifty 
years, the schools still faced an unsolved problem. 
There was still either too heavy a burden or too little 
training in habits of independent study. There 
existed the same worry and strain among children 
about promotion, among teachers about the ac- 
complishment of grade work. There still continued 



existing. 






THE GROUP SYSTEM AN EVOLUTION 5 



the same frightful decrease in numbers as the upper Neglect 

. IT °f t ^ le eXCe P" 

grades were reached, pointing towards discourage- tionai 1 child. 
ment and distaste for school and study as among its 
causes. It became apparent that great injustice 
was being done to two classes of children, the bright 
child and the exceedingly dull. The scheme of 
a graded school produced higher general averages 
and enabled a larger part of a class to advance more 
rapidly; but, as Superintendent Kennedy says, 
"The machinery of our graded school ran amuck in 
its false assumption of uniformity in the nature of 
children and in their environment and in its mis- 
placed faith in uniform methods of teaching and 
treatment." The exceptional child, the one above 
as well as the one below the general average, was lost, 
neglected; habits of truancy and disorder were 
formed, or at best, when discipline was too strong 
for either of these, then, habits of listening with 
closed ears, inattentive minds, and a firm determi- 
nation to get away from the restraints of the school- 
room as soon "as permitted by law. 

Such conditions existing and allowed to continue, Therefore 
the school has failed in its mission. It is not pro- f a n s ca as°an 
viding the education which is to preserve our Ameri- prhSpie? 
can principle, for government by the people and for 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



Relief 
sought in 
special 
plans of 
promotion, 



Pueblo 
plan. 



the people demands that each individual be pre- 
pared to share individually and intelligently in the 
duties of government. 

Prominent educators have, therefore, sought a 
remedy in special plans of promotion and classi- 
fication, and of these the Group System is an evolu- 
tion as well as a compromise. Noting only those 
which were enthusiastically advertised as having 
specific power to assist in removing the conditions 
already described, we shall consider first the Pueblo 
plan, with its long study periods, class recitation, and 
pupils advancing under the individual direction of 
the teacher. But the Pueblo loses many, if not most, 
of the advantages of the graded system in its lack 
of a social whole. Probably of all these special 
promotion schemes, more was hoped for from the 
Cambridge Cambridge plan, permitting the child to finish his 
school course in four, five, or six years, according 
to his ability; but while the Cambridge plan allevi- 
ates the evils of the graded class system in that it 
provides a stopping place for the slow child and a 
point at which the bright child may forge ahead, 
yet many individuals drop out for lack of interest 
and of personal touch and aid of the teacher. Two 
promotion plans, which found little favor in America, 



plan. 



THE GROUP SYSTEM AN EVOLUTION 7 

two worthy of mention as efforts elsewhere to seek 

relief, are the English Pupil-teacher plan and the European 

plans. 

German Blocking System, consisting of alternate 
class and study periods. 

In New York City schools have been tried several New York 

. City experi- 

expenments to meet the needs of the exceptional ments. 
child, not meaning thereby the mental defective. 
One of these, an interesting account of which ap- 
peared in the Educational Review of June, 1898, 
provides that each grade shall be divided into classes 
for slow and bright pupils. The same idea was ex- 
tended a little further in another school, where the 
plan entails three divisions : one, the bright children 
of the grade; second, the slow pupils of the same 
grade; and third, the over-age children of the two 
grades in the same year. In both these schemes 
the divisions progress at a different rate of progress, 
the brighter child doing more extensive and intensive 
work on the same subject-matter, and both plans 
allow the children to pass from one division to an- 
other at the end of a term, according to the differences 
in development of their mental capacity. 

Best known of all experiments is the Batavia plan, Batavia 
devised almost accidentally by Superintendent John 
Kennedy in 1898. The central idea is a stated period 



8 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

for individual instruction to alternate with class work. 
Because the plan began with an accidental necessity 
of placing an extra teacher in an overcrowded room, 
it has been thought that the Batavia plan has as an 
essential two teachers in a room. But this is an 
error, for the plan may be worked with one teacher 
with one grade, one teacher with two grades, and 
two teachers with two grades in a room. It is 
organized individual instruction supplementing mass 
or class instruction; the child has all the educative 
influences, already referred to, that result from class 
instruction, and yet is systematically helped in his 
own weaknesses. 
Elizabeth A grouping system has long been in use in the 

grouping. schools of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Four or five groups 
are taught in one room ; reclassification is frequent, 
and promotion is made from group to group, room 
to room; but it has disadvantages, too, for there 
are the dangers of basing promotion on a knowledge 
standard only, and of having the same deadening 
uniformity prevail in the division into groups as 
into classes, since the grouping is formally made and 
maintained for definite, formally fixed periods. 

The experiment in the use of the Group System 
began in New York City through needs and con- 



THE GROUP SYSTEM AN EVOLUTION 9 

ditions forced upon attention by the establishment The Group 

System in 

of the so-called special classes. These special special 

classes in 

classes, known as C, D, and E classes of each school New York 

City. 

year, were organized for three distinct purposes. 
The first, or C class, is to teach English to non-Eng- 
lish-speaking immigrant children. The second class, 
or E class, is to give the over-age child special, in- 
dividual, personal instruction which will fit him as 
rapidly as possible to advance to the grade in which 
his age entitles him to be placed, but below which 
he has fallen for various reasons. The D class, is 
to enable the child who is at or near the age when 
the law allows him to go to work, but who fails 
to meet the scholarship requirements of the Child 
Labor Law, and for whose personal or family needs 
it is imperative that he become wage-earning, to 
obtain the necessary teaching and training more 
rapidly than would be possible in a large class of the 
regular grade. The very manner of formation of 
these special classes will naturally enough bring to- 
gether in one room the careless student, the mentally 
inapt, the unwilling and the disorderly pupil, children 
widely different in mental power and attainment. 
It necessarily follows that three or four grades wil] 
be represented in one room, and that practically 



io TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

the same condition exists as in ungraded or country- 
schools. Teaching such a class as a whole is a 
practical impossibility, is manifestly unfair to the 
children, and is the cause of the failure and con- 
sequent discredit which attended the formation of 
such classes in some places. To work with the class 
as a whole, where would the teacher begin work? 
Could she carry each with any degree of rapidity? 
What about the fairness of making those of the 
highest grade wait while the others were catching 
up to them? 
Experi- The advantages resulting from the use of a Group 

with G g roup System in these special classes led to experiment with 
regular " its use in regular classes in the schools of New York 
schools. City. Its recommendation by the city superin- 
tendent for general adoption in all schools, and its 
earnest advocacy by other members of the super- 
intendents of New York followed. A study of the 
methods and plans in use in other cities, where similar 
conditions have suggested similar remedies, must 
result in an enthusiastic belief that the Group System 
has been found a way out of the difficulties and evils 
so well recognized and deprecated everywhere. 

The Group System is an evolution out of all the 
plans and experiments we have briefly considered 
in this chapter. It bears marked resemblance to 



THE GROUP SYSTEM AN EVOLUTION n 

the Elizabeth and the Batavia plans. It is not at The Group 
all the ungraded or district school plan, but it does evolution 
apply to a well-graded school all that was good in promise. 
the old district school. It plans for the alternation 
of study and instruction, as in the German Blocking 
System. It allows for a different rate of progress 
for the slow and the bright child, as in the experi- 
mental schemes in New York. It is not a reaction 
against method, but it is an emphasis on the last of 
the five steps in teaching — application. It includes 
the old-fashioned drill we've lost sight of, trans- 
lated into the new thought of self-reliant study. 
Its aim is not to cover the work of any grade neces- 
sarily more quickly, but to cover it so that every 
child is given the opportunity to progress according 
to his individual capabilities. Its aim is not neces- 
sarily to advance the bright pupils, although the 
brighter child should, and may, through its use, be 
allowed to advance as rapidly as he can cover the 
ground with thoroughness. Its particular advantage 
in our schools is that it brings the backward child 
up to grade. Historically considered, then, the Group 
System is a natural development of conditions, a nat- 
ural sequence. The pendulum swings to one side, 
then to the other, but finally rests between the two. 



CHAPTER II 

LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES 

Very earnestly must a warning be urged against 
being too precipitate in adopting the Group System 
in wholesale fashion, against using group instruction 
solely to the exclusion of all whole-class teaching 
with a consequent loss of the virtues of the graded 
class system, against limiting the teacher's opportu- 
nities to discover by experiment the solution of her 
difficulties. We are prone to think that in some 
one new method of teaching, or method of discipline, 
or method of classification and promotion, we have 
found a panacea for all the educational ills we have 
known. Such hasty, ill-considered use of the Group 
System will produce disorganization and evils greater 
than those it is intended to remedy ; therefore, until 
after work with the Group System has advanced 
beyond the experimental and introductory stage, it 
will be wise to proceed slowly and cautiously. A 
careful consideration of the limitations of the Group 
System will prevent the possibility of such disorgani- 



LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES 13 

zation and consequent discredit to the method ; fur- 
thermore, having the difficulties clearly set before 
them, principals and teachers will comprehend how 
thoroughly these difficulties are offset by what is 
gained through the use of group teaching. 

Among some half dozen difficulties which have 
been advanced as arguments against the use of the 
Group System, several apply only to city schools. 
Two are general, applying equally to the graded 
schools of the cities and towns and the ungraded 
schools of the country districts, and are very real 
problems to either. The first of these has to do 
with the use of busy work. The nature and style Seat work 

a difficulty. 

of the material published in most of the magazines 
for teachers testify to the demand there must be for 
suggestion along this line. It is hard to find employ- 
ment for the group or groups not receiving oral in- 
struction from the teacher. Still harder is it to 
insure that such employment shall be profitable 
occupation of real and permanent value to the child, 
and not merely "busy" work. In the city is added 
to this hardship in providing busy work of proper 
character, the fact that teachers have become so 
accustomed to a discipline which includes attention 
from every child in the class at every moment of the 



14 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

day that they are confused by the loss of the old-time, 
machine-like quiet. They find it a great strain to 
teach one group and at the same time supervise one 
or two others at busy work. 
Discipline This brings us to a consideration of the second of 

as affected 

by Group these two general difficulties which affect a safe 

Svstem. 

introduction of the Group System, and that is the 
effect on discipline. In places where the Group 
System has been long in use, including such schools 
in the large cities as have given the method sufficient 
testing, certain beneficent results in discipline have 
been generally recognized and acknowledged. Chief 
among these are the following : — 

i. The busy work interests the "bad boy," and 
can be used as a means of reward for good behavior. 

2. Working in small groups holds the flighty 
attention of the child with little power of connected 
thinking. 

3. Eye, hand, and mind are kept equally busy. 

4. The Group System necessitates independent 
work; it therefore teaches self-reliance, with self- 
government as a natural outcome. 

5. Every child is kept usefully employed, so that 
he has no idle moments in which to devise mischief. 

6. The Group System, rightly managed, teaches 



LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES 15 

care for other people's property and regard for 
other people's rights, since the books, papers, and 
busy work devices and material the child uses are 
not his and must be preserved intact for his mates 
to use later. 

7. When any disorder does arise, it is much easier 
to detect the offender. Such disorder as can occur 
in the class of a teacher who has any power of con- 
trol will seldom or never arise in the group receiving 
oral instruction from the teacher. This fact limits 
the possibilities at once, and moderate care in the 
supervision and testing of the busy work of the other 
groups will at once betray the offenders, since they 
must necessarily have slighted or neglected the tasks 
assigned. 

Yet so constantly has the discipline problem been 
argued as a limitation of the value of the Group 
System that, in order to get at the teacher's point 
of view and ascertain the real source of her diffi- 
culty, a questionnaire was circulated among several 
hundred teachers. Two conclusions are forced 
upon the readers of the replies to that questionnaire : 
first, the truth of the old story that a good discipli- 
narian never finds any conditions adverse to the 
securing of good discipline; second, the uselessness 



16 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

of trying to decide such a matter on the basis of 
answers to questions, viewing those answers as votes. 
To illustrate the contradiction in these statements 
from teachers in response to the question, "Is the 
use of the Group System an aid or a hindrance in 
disciplining your class? Why?" the following rep- 
resentative papers are quoted : — 

One teacher writes: "The Group System solves 
the question of discipline. The discipline is more 
natural, because busy work is another outlet for 
natural activity; the children are busy, and there- 
fore quiet. Requiring the entire class to concentrate 
on the same thing at the same time demands a more 
strenuous effort by teachers and pupils. Group 
work removes this strain of discipline, and at the 
same time gives the child the ability to concentrate, 
so invaluable to him." 

The next answer says: "The influence of the 
Group System on discipline is positively pernicious. 
Not all finish their work at the same time, and the 
quick ones sit and talk while waiting. If the teacher 
stops to speak to such children, she loses the atten- 
tion of the group taught." 

The third in order reads: "Group teaching has 
a bad effect on the discipline of the class: first, 



LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES 17 

because it works against unity; second, it destroys 
class spirit; third, it gives an opportunity for lying 
and cheating, inattention and idleness; fourth, it 
destroys the spirit of emulation, and, consequently, 
learning by imitation; and fifth, the impetus that 
the bright child might give to the backward one is 
lost." 

A terrible arraignment, if true. But the fourth 
teacher answers: "According to my judgment, the 
Group System aids the discipline of a class, for by 
it every child is taught self-control, so that it is im- 
possible for him to create any disorder. The busy 
work group, kept busily engaged, has no time for 
disorder. If the class is taught as a whole, these 
advantages are utterly impossible; especially is it 
impossible to stop to teach a slow child, for then the 
bright one loses interest and becomes disorderly." 

It is easy to see just where the question rests if 
left to a vote of this kind, for nearly as many an- 
swers say that the effect upon discipline is good as 
the contrary. The questionnaire was not without 
its value, however, since the answers clearly indicate 
wherein lie the teacher's troubles in discipline after 
adopting the Group System. They arise mainly 
from the teacher's own errors, inexperience, or want 



18 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

of judgment, and most of these errors are due to the 
newness of the venture and the lack of adequate 
information and practical aid. 

Teachers make the mistake of trying to keep the 
groups "in order," not realizing that absolute quiet 
and the old-fashioned kind of attention are not only 
unnecessary, but injurious, and not understanding 
that the children employed in busy work should 
be working as individuals and should be receiving 
training in self-reliance and self -helpfulness. In 
addition, the further, complete discussion, in later 
chapters, of types of busy work and practical plans 
for the management of the groups, the two factors in 
the discipline problem as complained of by teachers, 
will remove any lingering doubt. Considered in 
this new light and with respect to the beneficent 
results upon discipline already noted as generally 
acknowledged, all statements similar to the two 
quoted in condemnation of the Group System lose 
all worth or semblance of truth. Since we must 
agree that the Group System teaches self-reliance, 
truthfulness, industry, and devotion to work, and 
gives confidence and encouragement to continue at 
work, and since these are, after all, the final aims of 
school discipline, have we not reached in the Group 



LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES 19 

System the surest and most natural means of accom- 
plishing our aims? 

Among the difficulties which apply more spe- The city 

teacher's 

cifically to graded schools undertaking the use of the training as 

affecting the 

Group System are four which need recognition and Group 

System. 

discussion. The first of these lies in the teacher's 
training. In the cities, the teachers are almost all 
city born and bred, and have no background of 
personal experience in anything except whole-class 
teaching. Scarcely any of them have seen any 
country school teaching, and consequently they have 
not even such second-hand experience. Their peda- 
gogical training has not included any instruction in 
methods of teaching by groups or plans of busy 
work. Is it any wonder they are afraid and un- 
willing, and is it fair for them not to have a chance 
to learn how to use it ? An earnest, willing teacher, 
one who has had just enough years of experience to 
realize the important and serious nature of her work, 
and not so many as to be unable to bend to new con- 
ditions, such a teacher should do the work in its 
experimental stage, especially if she has had out-of- 
town or common evening-school experience. Then 
let the others benefit by what such a teacher can 
teach them. 



20 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Size of The second difficulty, if removed, would lessen the 

classes. 

force of all other objections ; for it is the size of our 
classes which makes the amount of preparatory work 
so great, and it is the size of our classes which makes 
it impossible for any group to be small enough to 
make sure that real, concentrated effort is put forth, 
or to enable the teacher thoroughly to correct her 
busy work. To offset this obstacle, various schemes 
have been tried, and will be described to you when 
we reach the topic of ways and means of adapting 
the Group System to conditions. 
Daily pro- The third difficulty arises from attempts to make 

grammes. 

the work fit into programmes or orders of exercises. 
Teachers are worried about the time schedule — 
how to give each subject its due amount of time, and 
how to accomplish in each subject the exact amount 
required by the course of study. Of course, there 
must be a programme, — every good teacher recog- 
nizes the need of one, — but the set, red-lined orders 
of exercises have always seemed of doubtful value 
except as crutches for the new teacher or the poor 
teacher. What can be done in the way of pro- 
grammes will be illustrated in a later chapter, and 
evidence given to show that in thinking of the pro- 
gramme as being a special or specific limitation of 



LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES 21 

the value of the Group System, we are conjuring up 
a difficulty where none exists. 

The fourth difficulty is in the demand on the teach- The de- 
er's time, and here we are facing a very real and the teach- 

er's time. 

very serious obstacle. The amount of labor which is 
put upon a teacher by the first term's work in the 
use of the Group System is enormous. The amount 
of preparation the teacher must make in the plan- 
ning of work to meet the special requirements of 
different groups in a class, in the preparation of 
so-called " busy-work" or occupation for the group 
not actually receiving instruction, is apparently so 
much greater in amount over and above what whole - 
class teaching would require that it is hard to see 
just how this difficulty can be surmounted. The 
testimony of teachers is almost unanimous that 
it takes longer to plan the work, the length of time 
varying from one to ten hours weekly. All agree 
that there is a greater tax on the teacher's memory 
and judgment in planning the work, and this with- 
out consideration of the amount of time needed for 
the correction of busy work, which must, of course, 
always receive correction, or it is absolutely valueless. 
Yet with proper cooperation of teachers, one with 
another, and the saving of plans of work and of 



22 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

busy-work devices from term to term, the burden will 
steadily become lighter, although this question of 
demand on the teacher's time made by the use of the 
Group System is great, and will help to disgruntle, 
indeed, the teacher who keeps more accurate count 
of hours of labor outside of school than of good 
accomplished for her pupils. 

In closing this effort to give frank recognition and 
discussion to all the difficulties and limitations ad- 
vanced against the adoption of the Group System, 
attention is invited to the following quotations from 
Bagley's "Classroom Management": "Any system 
of class and individual instruction" (which is, of 
course, what we mean by the Group System) "must 
be applied with a full recognition of its pitfalls. It 
requires teachers of skill and scholarship for its 
effective application, and it must not be looked upon 
as a royal road to learning. One must not think of 
eliminating in any degree the struggle and effort 
that are always essential to growth, whether of a 
child in school or a teacher in her profession." 
Advantages Somewhat full consideration has been given to the 
System. difficulties confronting the teacher who undertakes 
to teach her class in groups, as it was felt that only 
by a preliminary removal of any preconceived idea 



LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES 23 

that the Group System has many hardships and 
limitations could just and thorough attention be 
secured to the ways and means of putting the method 
into practical use. Lengthy discussion of the ad- 
vantages of the Group System is unnecessary at this 
point, since later development of the subject em- 
phasizes them, one by one. 

Briefly summed up, the advantages of the Group 
System are as follows : — 

1. It makes possible true individual teaching. 

2. It fixes individual responsibility on the part of 
the child, with resultant self-reliance and ability to 
study independently. He knows a thing because he 
Learned it. 

3. It provides work in advance for the bright boy 
and brings the slow one up to grade. 

4. It includes attention to proper methods of 
teaching, and at the same time the absolutely indis- 
pensable advantage of study on the part of the child. 

5. It insures drill, the weak point in our modern 
methods. 

6. Its work is more thorough because it makes 
possible greater concentration on the part of both 
teacher and child. 



CHAPTER III 

SCHEMES OF GROUPING 

Three Three distinct and well-systematized schemes of 

grouping. division into groups are fairly well recognized, al- 
though methods of division into groups and of mak- 
ing promotions and the basis of classification may 
vary greatly. Of these three plans of grouping, 
which we shall denominate the Constant Group 
scheme, the Shifting Group scheme, and the Grade 
Group scheme, the second is the one best adapted for 
use in graded schools, and the third is a combination 
of the first two intended for use in very large city 
schools, while the first precedes the other two in priority 
of use and historic importance. To the plan of Con- 
stant Groups, then, consideration must first be given. 
The Con- In the scheme of Constant Groups, the method 

stant Group ...... . A , . 

plan. of division into groups is, as the name implies, 

formal, the distinction between the groups being 
kept up for fixed periods. Promotion, whether 
from group to group within a room or from room to 
room, comes at set intervals. The Constant Group 

24 



SCHEMES OF GROUPING 25 

scheme allows for two or three groups in a room, known 
as the "fast" group and the "slow" group, when 
there are two, or as "fast," "normal," and "slow" 
groups when there are three ; but, in any case, one 
group is always in advance of the others, and finishes 
the grade work sooner than the others. The Con- 
stant Group scheme demands that grouping be 
maintained in all the subjects of the course of study, 
and the basis of classification is the child's power to 
advance. 

By modifications of the formality of these charac- The Shift- 
ing Group 
teristics of the Constant Group scheme has been de- plan. 

veloped the second method of grouping, known as the 
Shifting Group scheme. The distinction between 
the groups is kept up for indefinite, unfixed periods, 
and the division is informal and varying, permitting 
children to pass from group to group, advancing or 
halting, as their own proficiency determines. While 
there may be promotion from room to room of the 
"fast" children in a class, it does not necessarily 
follow that there must be. The basis of classi- 
fication is again the child's power to advance, but 
it is judged step by. step, decided, not by his natural 
endowment and mentality, but by his power to 
grasp each new point and by the security and thor- 



26 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

oughness with which he masters each task prepared 
for him. It necessarily follows, then, that there is no 
demand for grouping in all the subjects of the course 
of study. Instead, the Shifting Group scheme puts 
no compulsion on the teacher as to the number of 
subjects in which she uses the grouping system or 
as to the number of groups in each or any of the 
subjects of study. 
The Grade The third scheme of grouping, referred to before 
as the Grade Group scheme, has been tried in several 
very large city schools in New York, and, I think, 
in Rochester. It is in many ways a combination of 
ideas and of ways and means suggested in the two 
schemes already described. For its use, large num- 
bers of children in the same grade are necessary. 
All the children in a particular grade are regarded 
as one whole class, and are grouped as "fast," 
"normal," and "slow." Three classes in a grade 
are then formed, each class consisting of a constant 
group of the grade as a whole. The teacher of each 
of these classes or constant groups gives her instruc- 
tion with the use of the Shifting Group plan within the 
class, not necessarily in all subjects, but certainly in 
English and Arithmetic. To illustrate the Grade 
Group scheme: — 



SCHEMES OF GROUPING 27 

Grade 4 B (Fourth Year, Second Half) has 
126 children : 45 are classified as " fast " or " bright " ; 
51 as " normal"; 30 as "slow." Three classes are 
formed in that grade ; these are known as 4 B 1, con- 
sisting of the 45 "fast" children; 4B2, consisting 
of 51 "normal" children; 4 B 3, consisting of the 30 
"slow" children. Class 4 B 1 is a constant group 
which is allowed to advance rapidly and to cover 
the ground in less than one term, if possible. Class 
4 B 2 is a constant group which, by means of the plan 
of shifting groups in the essential subjects, infor- 
mally used within the class, covers the grade work 
fully and thoroughly in one term. Class 4 B 3 is a 
constant group, taught also by the informal use of 
the Shifting Group plan; and, covering only the 
minimum requirements of the course of study, is 
promoted to the next grade at the same time as 
4 B 2. 

In favor of the Constant Group scheme many 
arguments have been advanced which, however, 
resolve themselves into three. 

The first of these three is that the bright child is in favor 
enabled to pass more rapidly from grade to grade, Constant 
and is not compelled to wait for the majority. Since scheme, 
he is therefore likely to retain his interest in study, 



28 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

he will remain in school until graduation, the result 
being a lessening of the decrease in attendance as the 
upper grades are reached, and an improvement in 
the standard of scholarship. The second argu- 
ment has also to do with the aid of the bright child, 
for it claims that no child is held back because of his 
deficiency in one subject, and that this is especially 
helpful to children in the "fast" group. Being 
naturally bright, and receiving individual instruction 
from the teacher, as is possible in a small group, the 
child is allowed to progress as rapidly as he may in 
subjects in which he is proficient, and is prevented 
from falling behind in the grades because of inap- 
titude for some one subject. The third argument 
urged in favor of the Constant Group scheme is that 
it is good school economy. Since the bright child 
is advanced from grade to grade as fast as he is able 
to go, room is made for new admissions in the grades 
below without a demand for increase in the number 
of rooms or the number of teachers. 
Against the Placing so much emphasis on the advance of the 

Constant 

Group plan, bright child, the Constant Group scheme is accom- 
panied by two dangers. The first is the temptation 
to push the bright child ahead so fast that one of 
two things results, — either he is pushed ahead with 



SCHEMES OF GROUPING 29 

consequent neglect of his health and resultant nerv- 
ousness, or his quickness in grasping a subject 
makes it possible for him to go ahead without any 
real, lasting grasp of subject-matter, such as will 
cause it to remain in his mind for all time. I think 
that we cannot neglect serious consideration of this 
point, since I firmly believe that superficiality in 
knowledge and lack of power to study are the great 
causes for the discredit put upon our public school 
children when they go out to work, or enter the high 
schools and colleges. The second danger is the 
temptation to the teacher to neglect the children of 
the " slow" group, so that their case is worse than ever, 
in her concentration of mind on the advancement 
of the "fast" group. Two other adverse criticisms 
may be brought forward against the Constant Group 
scheme. One, that since the groups are fixed, it 
removes none of the formality and loss of individual 
touch, the injurious influences resulting from the 
graded school system. Two, that it makes the 
standard of advance one purely of knowledge, re- 
sulting in the placing of undue importance on me- 
moriter acquirement of subject-matter and of undue 
emphasis on examinations and tests. 

None of these criticisms holds good against the 



30 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Differences Shifting Group scheme. The difference between 

between 

two plans the two schemes lies really in a difference in aim. 

of grouping. 

In the plan just discussed, the aim is to advance the 
bright child. In the Shifting Group plan, there is 
no danger of neglect for any child, slow or bright. 
The fast group is made to do thorough and more 
intensive study on the same subject on which the 
in favor slow group is receiving additional oral instruction 

of Shifting 

Group plan, from the teacher. Drill comes in as a matter of course, 
and there can be no superficiality. Furthermore, the 
child is forming habits of study which are going 
to be of invaluable assistance to him when he reaches 
the upper grades, or when he desires to study up 
some subject for himself after he leaves school. The 
slow group is not neglected, for it really receives more 
instruction than the fast group does. As a neces- 
sary consequence of the plan of work, the children 
in the slow group are brought up to grade and are 
enabled to pass an examination and go on to the 
next grade with the children in the fast group, al- 
though, of course, they may not have covered as 
much ground in each particular subject as the chil- 
dren in the fast group. 

The Shifting Group plan is more properly in line 
with the principle spoken of previously; that is, if 



SCHEMES OF GROUPING 31 

popular education is designed to fit people for the 
proper administration of our form of government, 
then any and every individual must be included. 
It cannot be the education of the few, or the educa- 
tion of the majority, but the education of all. Each 
individual child must receive individual instruction, 
and obtain the personal sympathy and aid of the 
teacher in his individual needs. The Shifting 
Group plan is sufficiently elastic to allow of this 
individual attention, since it requires grouping in 
certain subjects only and makes feasible the teach- 
ing of the class as a whole in certain other subjects. 
Also, taken in this manner, it retains the benefit to 
be obtained from whole-class teaching. If the sub- 
jects in which grouping is done are — as in most 
places where this plan is followed — reading, writ- 
ing, and arithmetic, then have we solved the prob- 
lem of the drill in the three R's in which our schools 
are said to-day to be deficient. 

Against the Shifting Group plan, however, it is Against the 

i • i t * Shifting 

true that one urgent objection can be made. It is Group plan, 
clumsy and difficult to plan, since it is almost impos- 
sible for a teacher to make or use a set programme, 
and since it requires her to change her plan fre- 
quently, and, therefore, to do a great amount of 



32 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

planning and preparation. This is really the only 
valid argument against the Shifting Group scheme, 
the only point in which the plan of Constant Groups 
apparently excels. The claim of superior school 
economy is not justified, if one looks below the sur- 
face of things, for although there may be no im- 
mediate saving of teachers, there is room made for 
new admissions below. It is better made, too, since 
it is not done by the advancement of a few brighter 
children, but by the sure advancement of all or nearly 
all ; in other words, by the saving of room formerly 
needed for held-over children. 

Where numbers in each grade in a school are large 
enough to make it possible, the Grade Group plan, 
really combining the other two schemes, is particu- 
larly advantageous. By applying to the grade as 
a whole the plan of Constant Groups and to each 
class the plan of Shifting Groups, we secure all the 
benefits of each, and guard against all the deficiencies 
experiment has found in each. But most schools 
must confine themselves to one of the first two, the 
conclusion in favor of either depending entirely on 
which aim is regarded as the ideal, — whether it 
seems more desirable for the bright child to advance 
rapidly, or whether it is better to bring the slow child 



SCHEMES OF GROUPING 33 

up to grade, and thus secure definite instruction for 
all classes of children. In schools and classes for 
special problems, the teacher will inevitably find 
herself forced to use the plan of Constant Groups, 
since her conditions resemble the ungraded school, 
and there are few, if any, subjects which she can 
teach to the class as a whole. In regular classes of 
the graded schools, the plan of the Shifting Groups 
is the ideal one. 



CHAPTER IV 



CLASSIFICATION INTO GROUPS 



Basis of 
classifica- 
tion. 



In the Con- 
stant 
Group. 



As stated in the last chapter, the basis of classi- 
fication in both the Constant Group and the Shifting 
Group schemes is the child's power to advance, but 
there is a difference in the judgment of his power 
to advance. In the Constant Group scheme, it is 
almost inevitably decided by the child's natural en- 
dowment of mentality. Hence there is little diffi- 
culty experienced by the teacher in classifying her 
children into groups, once she knows her children 
and has tested their acquirements. That this is 
true is clear at once after a moment's recall of what 
is included in the working out of the Constant Group 
scheme : that definite, formal divisions shall be made 
within a class; that the divisions shall be kept up 
for definitely fixed periods; that grouping shall be 
maintained in most or all of the subjects of study, 
although, of course, the groups need not be con- 
stituted the same in all the subjects. 

34 



CLASSIFICATION INTO GROUPS 35 

In the Shifting Group scheme, the judgment of the in the 
child's power to advance is decided by the thorough- Group, 
ness with which he grasps each new step, each new 
detail of each subject, as it is taught. Hence there 
is considerable difficulty involved for the teacher 
in classifying her children into groups, since these 
groups are necessarily a variable quantity; and the 
method of classification into groups under the Shift- 
ing Group scheme must have fuller explanation and 
illustration. 

When the instruction in each new step of a lesson How to 

. classify into 

is completed with the class as a whole, grouping shifting 
begins, decided by a test given at the close of the 
period of teaching. In other words, when the time 
has arrived for the teaching of a new point, the teacher 
drops all group divisions and teaches it to the class 
as a whole. At the close of the period or periods 
devoted to the presentation of this new point, a test, 
oral or written, as circumstances decide, enables the 
teacher to divide her class into two groups ; the first 
is composed of children who have thoroughly grasped 
the new point, and the second, of children who need 
fuller instruction. 

Group A, then, consists of children who have com- 
prehended the entire lesson as taught ; they need no 



36 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

further instruction, but they do need drill, which they 
receive through seat- work study in the next period. 
Group B consists of children who have failed to 
comprehend the entire lesson as taught in the first 
period. They do need further instruction and help 
from the teacher, and to them the teacher must give 
her personal attention in the next period. At the 
end of this second period, the teacher gives to Group 
B a test similar to the one used to test the whole 
class at the end of the first period. Consideration 
of this test reveals the necessity for a further sub- 
division of the class into groups, since even after a 
second lesson, there will still remain children who 
have not made satisfactory progress. The teacher 
makes note of this remnant as constituting a third 
group, to be known as Group C. When the third 
period for the same lesson arrives, the teacher divides 
her class into three groups, A, B, and C. Group B 
is now in need of drill, and must spend the period 
in doing the same or similar seat-work study as- 
signed to Group A for the second period. At the 
beginning of the third period, the teacher's personal 
attention is given to the children of Group A, who 
receive a short drill in a rapid fire of questions cover- 
ing the point taught and the seat work of the pre- 



CLASSIFICATION INTO GROUPS 37 

vious day. This should occupy less than half the 
period, and during the rest of the time allowed, 
Group A does seat work in the same, or possibly some 
other, lesson. The children of Group A must have 
this short period of teaching time in order to insure 
that their needs are not neglected and that dis- 
covery is made of the children whose apparent grasp 
of the subject-matter during the first period lacked 
real thoroughness. They must feel that the teacher's 
interest and attention are theirs equally with their 
classmates, and that their work receives as careful 
correction. While the teacher is personally at 
work with Group A, Group C may listen, for 
the sake of the benefit which they may derive 
from their classmates' answers, or they may be 
occupied in manual work or in seat work in re- 
lation to some other lesson. The major part of this 
third period the teacher uses in giving final, de- 
tailed, and individual teaching to Group C. 

Even if a test of Group C at the end of the third 
period discovers that there are a few very slow chil- 
dren still unable to comprehend the point taught, 
further subdivision is unwise. It is better to trust 
to their receiving aid from their neighbors or from 
pupil teachers during later periods. In the later 



3§ 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



Illustration 
of classify- 
ing into 
Shifting 
Groups. 



periods, Group A will do more seat work in drill 
on the point taught, or manual work, or seat 
work in drill on other lessons in which individual 
members of Group A may be weak. In one of these 
later periods, Group B will be treated as was Group A 
in the third period; in the others, Group B will 
proceed in similar manner to that just outlined for 
Group A. In all later periods, Group C will be oc- 
cupied with the same or similar seat-work study as 
was assigned to Group A in the second period and 
to Group B in the third period. Throughout these 
later periods, the teacher will give as much individ- 
ual attention as possible to the slow, weak students. 
In the last period, before instruction in a new point 
is begun, the teacher will take the class once more 
as a whole, and by a short, sharp drill and question- 
ing, decide whether it is safe to advance to the next 
step outlined in her grade work. 

Application to a specific lesson of the foregoing 
explanation of the method of classification into groups 
under the Shifting Group scheme will make per- 
fectly clear how the method will work out in actual 
practice. To illustrate, then, by a lesson or series 
of lessons in arithmetic in Grade i A, First Year, 
First Half : — 



CLASSIFICATION INTO GROUPS 39 

The new point to be taught to the class is that three 
plus two equal five. The teacher presents it, with 
careful attention to all that she has learned of methods 
of teaching, to the class as a whole. By tests, by 
questioning during the lesson or at its close, by in- 
cidents which may occur as the lesson is presented, 
— some way, somehow, the teacher discovers that 
a certain percentage of her class has completely 
grasped the point of the lesson, and that the rest 
need fuller explanation and drilling. She divides 
her class accordingly into Groups A and B. 

Next day, when her program calls for an arithme- 
tic exercise, Group A, for the entire period, does seat 
work in application of the point taught, and fixes 
permanently in mind by self-reliant study that three 
plus two are five. Such seat work may consist of the 
following exercises, each child receiving a few pre- 
liminary directions from the teacher and an envelope 
containing all the material he needs for all the exer- 
cises : — 

Ex. 1. Strings and beads of several colors, ten 
of each color. On one string he arranges white 
beads, thus: — 

three beads, space, two beads, larger space, five beads. 
000 00 00000 



4o 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



If he has beads of five colors, he must arrange five 
strings in this manner. 

Ex. 2. Splints of several colors, ten of each color, 
arranged on his desk in similar manner. 



in ii 



iiiii 



Ex. 3. Cut-up slips on which the teacher has 
written 3, 2, 5 and the plus and equality signs. 
Child uses the slips and builds up on his desk several 
rows of 



3 




+ 




2 



Ex. 4. Cut-up slips to be used as in last exer- 
cise, or this exercise may possibly precede. 






Ex. 5. Splints and cut-up slips; splints to be 
arranged to make the combination, and the cut -up 
slips to be placed as indicating the answer. 
3 splints, space, 2 splints, space, 5 splints, space, 
cut -up slips reading "5 sticks." 



II 



5 sticks 



CLASSIFICATION INTO GROUPS 41 

Ex. 6. Beads, buttons, etc., as in Ex. 5. 

An additional difficulty is found in that the child 
must see that his answer slip is placed correctly, 
5 beads next to beads, etc. 

Ex. 7. Child to write the combination 3 + 2 = 5. 

While Group A is so occupied, Group B is in- 
structed again by the teacher, with just as careful 
attention to the methods of presenting the subject- 
matter ; in fact, she will probably seek a new means 
of approach and be more detailed in her teaching 
than on the previous day. At the end of this second 
lesson, a certain proportion of this group gives 
satisfactory evidence of knowing, without guessing 
or prompting, that three plus two are five, although 
there may be still an appreciably large number of 
children who have failed to do so and must have 
patient, individual drilling. 

On the third day, when her period for arithmetic 
comes, the teacher finds, therefore, that she has three 
groups to work with. Group B is set busy at once 
on the same exercises already described as being 
required of Group A on the second day, and is left 
to work by itself throughout the period. The 
teacher's time and attention are given to Groups A 
and C. If it is a forty-minute period, she uses the 



42 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

first fifteen minutes to drill and test Group A in a 
rapid fire of questions which keeps every child alert. 
Meanwhile, Group C listens to the work of Group A, 
or is occupied in manual work or seat-work drill 
or some other lesson. At the end of the first fifteen 
minutes, Group A is given seat work in further 
application, to fix in the child's memory by frequent 
repetition that three plus two are five. The exer- 
cises may be similar to those used during the second 
period, or the same worked out with different 
materials, varied in some way so as to continue the 
interest. Group C's turn for instruction comes 
when Group A begins its seat work. In this third 
teaching of the same point to these children, the 
teacher tries to reach individual difficulties, and 
corrects typical errors and misapprehensions which 
are keeping the children of Group C behind their 
classmates of Groups A and B. 

This division of the class into three groups is 
maintained throughout all succeeding periods until 
the teacher feels that the class is ready to advance 
to a new point. During the fourth period, the 
teacher proceeds with Group B in the manner out- 
lined for Group A in the third period, and assigns to 
Group C the seat-work exercises already used by 



CLASSIFICATION INTO GROUPS 43 

Group A in the second period and by Group B in 
the third period. The latter and major part of 
this fourth period, the teacher uses to supervise and 
correct the seat-work exercises and give individual 
aid to the children of Group C. Group A could 
again be assigned seat work for the entire period. 
There would be, however, this difference. The 
seat work for Group A during this fourth period 
need not necessarily be in application of the same 
point. It may be review ; it may be work of a more 
intensive character, thought problems, etc. ; it may 
be even in preparation for the study of a new point 
soon to be taught to the class as a whole ; it may be 
work in an entirely different subject, planned so 
as to provide drill for these children of Group A 
along lines in which they may not be so proficient. 
In many schools has been tried successfully the use 
of the brightest and best of the children of Group A 
as pupil teachers of children in other groups. This 
may be their seat work for the fourth period. During 
later periods which may follow before the teacher 
deems it wise to advance, the division of the period 
into teaching time and seat-work time, for each or 
any of the three groups, will depend upon conditions, 
and will vary from class to class, term to term. 



44 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



Once ready to advance, the class becomes a whole 



Why this 
classifica- 
tion is ad- 
vocated. 



Subjects in 
which to 
group. 



One can readily see that this method of classifica- 
tion into groups used in the Shifting Group scheme 
must result in a frequent changing and shifting of 
the children from group to group, whence the name 
given to it. The teacher is thereby able to insure 
from every child satisfactory progress in his acquire- 
ment of each new step in a subject of study, and yet 
to present each new step to the class as a whole. 
Just as surely, each child's work will alternate be- 
tween periods of study and periods of instruction, 
and the periods of instruction will alternate between 
class instruction and individual instruction. In 
the use of the Group System, planned as here ex- 
plained for the Shifting Group scheme, the teacher 
retains all the advantages of the graded school and 
whole-class teaching, secures the advantages of the 
Batavia system of individual instruction, and obtains 
an opportunity to train children in self-reliant study. 

Before leaving this question of classification into 
groups, it is needful to give some thought to its bear- 
ing upon the different subjects of the Course of Study. 
Immediately, there must be recognized another 
great gain resulting from the Group System; for 



CLASSIFICATION INTO GROUPS 45 

its use, with the Shifting Group scheme, makes 
not only possible, but actually unavoidable, very 
careful drill in the three R's, since in most schools, 
the subjects in which grouping is done are arith- 
metic and the English branches, particularly among 
the latter grammar and reading. In some schools, 
grouping is done in other subjects, even under the 
Shifting Group scheme, but the majority of principals 
and teachers who answered a questionnaire in regard 
to this point, agreed that in other subjects, certainly 
in all the special branches, work can be done just 
as well as desired by the system of the whole-class 
instruction as by the Group System. All the other 
subjects, especially geography and history in the 
latter half of the course and the manual work in all 
grades, do, however, form an important part of 
the teacher's plan for group teaching as providing 
supplementary reading and other excellent seat work. 

Moreover, it is true that, as a school term ad- The group- 

, . . . ing in read- 

vances, the groups become more constant in charac- i ng apt to 
ter and personnel in some subjects than in others, constant. 
This is very apt to be so in reading; for the same 
child is always a good reader or a poor reader, — 
that is, he will learn quickly and read well a lesson 
given, or he will recognize words slowly and read 



46 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

haltingly. The greatest variation in the constitution 
of a group is apt to occur in arithmetic or grammar. 
The same child may in one week be in Group A 
in arithmetic, and in the next week find great diffi- 
culty in getting out of Group C. In this characteris- 
tic of the Shifting Group scheme lies, however, as 
was said before, one of the greatest arguments to 
be advanced in favor of the Group System, since 
thereby are insured discovery and proper treatment 
of each child's individual weaknesses, and permis- 
sion and opportunity to the bright child to obtain 
broader and deeper knowledge of his subject-matter. 
In discussing later problems of the Group System, 
consideration will be given only to the Shifting 
Group plan, since it is felt that this plan lends itself 
to the surest accomplishment, in a graded school, of 
the aims and advantages looked for from the Group 
System. 



CHAPTER V 

THE DAILY PROGRAM 

Having considered the question of classification 
of a class into groups, and remembering that this 
classification will be constantly shifting, according 
to the child's power to grasp each point as it arises 
in the progress of the grade work, we now reach the 
point where we must give our attention to the plan- 
ning of the daily program. A great deal has been Planning 

• /->. o work in all 

written and said, implying that the Group System subjects 

i-rr i • i • easier under 

presents enormous difficulties to the teacher in the Group 

, r i m i i • r • • System. 

planning of a daily program, but a brief investiga- 
tion of these complaints reveals that they have little 
to support them and that the difficulties so loudly 
talked of are not new, but old, problems. In fear 
of every new method of procedure which seems to 
involve revolutionary changes, the teacher wonders, 
"How shall we ever be able to cover all of the course 
of study?" It always has been the teacher's cry, 
and it seems as if it always would be, and yet the 
difficulty is really less, not greater, when the Group 

47 



48 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

System is used. They forget that grouping is not 
to be done in all the subjects of the course of study, 
and that in all subjects where grouping is not done, 
the class receives the same teaching and does the 
same amount of work as the course of study re- 
quires, or as has always been the custom under the 
system of whole -class teaching. The labor is great, 
to be sure, but the worry of it disappears. The 
teacher is not harassed by the thought of a steadily 
increasing number falling behind in the grade work ; 
since in those subjects where grouping is done, 
it is with the specific purpose of making sure that 
every child in the class makes the necessary ad- 
vances in that particular subject, and there can be 
no neglect of the individual instruction which may 
remove a stumbling-block before it becomes a fatal 
impediment. 
No differ- The next question has an even more familiar sound, 

ence in r . . 

time assign- for it is a no new thing to hear teachers fret about 

ments on 

program. planning a time schedule so that a sufficient number 
of subjects of the course of study, and the total 
number of minutes allowed to each subject for the 
week, shall correspond with the official time assign- 
ment. That the Group System presents any real 
or any greater difficulty on this point is only a bug- 



THE DAILY PROGRAM 4 g 

bear which teachers have conjured up for them- 
selves. It is due to a failure to understand that the 
official time assignment does not require that every- 
one of the allotted minutes shall be spent by the 
teacher in giving actual instruction to the class, but 
merely a certain stated number of minutes shall be 
given to each subject. If, for example, out of one 
hundred and fifty minutes allowed for arithmetic, 
Group A spends seventy-five in study or seat work 
in arithmetic, it is just as much arithmetic time for 
the children in that group as are the other seventy- 
five minutes during which they are receiving in- 
struction by the teacher's voice. It is very wrong 
to conclude that there is any loss of time for arith- 
metic because the actual instruction by the teacher 
a group receives is cut short. When the teaching 
is done in groups, greater concentration and effort 
result in greater thoroughness ; and, provided that 
the seat work is properly planned and supervised, 
the independent study is probably more valuable 
than any further instruction from the teacher on the 
same point could possibly be. It is evident, then, 
that all idea that the Group System brings addi- 
tional difficulty in regard to time assignment is an 
error. The teacher calculates her division of the time 



50 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

assignment into daily periods without reference to 
any question as to whether she shall use whole-class 
teaching or the Group System ; in other words, just 
as she always did. 
Writing a The third difficulty, how to form a time schedule 
schedule. for the Group System in such shape that it can be 
hung up for inspection in the class room, is annoying, 
but possible of solution. The real truth is, that it 
never was possible to draw up a program on paper 
beautifully ruled out in red ink, every moment of 
the day duly accounted for, and then honestly say 
that we lived by it, day in, day out. Yet not to 
require a daily program from teachers is to give 
a dangerous liberty, for no program means neglect 
of something, inevitably and always. The best pro- 
gram is one which is a guide, a daily reminder, 
yet allows change, alteration, deviation, to meet the 
occasions of the day's work or the needs of a class. 
Decidedly must the program be of such descrip- 
tion when the Group System is used in the manner 
explained in these chapters. The daily order of ex- 
ercises must be a variable one, and it is impossible 
to plan a time schedule or daily program for 
every day in the week or every week in the term. 
Nevertheless, the difficulty is only a trivial one to 
the earnest teacher. 



THE DAILY PROGRAM 51 

In Bagley's "Classroom Management, " Chapter 
XIV, devoted to a discussion of the Batavia System, 
is given a program which can be copied and used, 
with slight modifications, by any teacher who uses 
the scheme of constant groups. In the chapter on 
school programs in White's " School Management," 
valuable hints may be obtained, although the pro- 
grams there given are designed particularly for 
the teacher in ungraded schools. An excellent sug- 
gestion is that the teacher shall prepare a plan of 
three days' work, calling them three typical days.. 
At least once in the three days every form of grade 
work will appear on the program; the use of the 
first three periods of grouping work will be illustrated 
for each group. On the other two days of the week 
her program may resemble any one of the three 
typical days, in whole or part, depending upon the 
progress the class has made or the interruption she 
has had to contend with. An illustration of a pro- 
gram planned for three typical days follows. 



52 



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THE DAILY PROGRAM 55 

In the foregoing program, the abbreviations used 
are to be understood as follows : T. means Teach ; 
D. means Drill; S. means Seat Work. Attention 
must first be given to certain general considerations 
wise for every teacher to bear in mind when pre- 
paring her own group program. 

1. The most difficult point to consider in planning Essential 

i -ii i n i • considera- 

the program is that the groups shall alternate in- tions in 

planning a 

struction and seat-work periods so that no child group pro- 
shall have two long, successive periods of study, 
even if in different subjects. It is easy to see that 
the ordinary laws of fatigue and interest require 
obedience to this injunction. 

2. However, the children may vary their seat work 
from the subject of the lesson in progress, the pro- 
gram must be planned so that the teacher's periods 
of instruction in any one subject shall be continuous. 
To illustrate: The program calls for arithmetic, 
the fourth period in the development and drill of 
the point taught. Group A, therefore, is to do seat 
work for the entire period, probably not in arith- 
metic at all ; Group B is to receive a short drill from 
the teacher, and then do seat work in further ap- 
plication of the lesson; Group C is to begin with 
seat work, which may or may not be arithmetic, 



56 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

and then receive detailed and individual instruction 
from the teacher. The teacher must give her short 
drill to Group B, and her instruction time to Group 
C, so that they follow each other, thus making the 
teacher's arithmetic work continuous. Any other 
arrangement complicates the teacher's problem by 
an unnecessary scattering of her own attention and 
nervous energy, which has its reactionary effect upon 
the children. Furthermore, there is such a thing 
as the spirit of a lesson pervading a room so that 
children and teacher work more rapidly and with 
less friction. For this reason, the seat work is 
somewhat easier to supervise if the group at seat 
work is studying the same subject as the work 
of the group receiving instruction. Therefore, if 
either Group A or Group C is to do arithmetic as 
seat work at any time during the day, this period, 
when the spirit and interest of arithmetic are in the 
air, is the time when the children of these two groups 
will work arithmetic most advantageously. 

3. By judicious use of manual work as seat work, 
much time can be saved and applied to an extension 
of the time allowed for one or more of the three R's. 
Because this is possible is one basis for the claim 
that the use of the Group System insures drill. As a 



THE DAILY PROGRAM 57 

result, the program may not show so many minutes 
devoted to actual class work and instruction in all 
the various forms of manual work, and may show 
many more minutes devoted to instruction and drill 
by the teacher in the so-called essential subjects. 
Yet the manual work suffers no loss in time, quantity, 
or quality, as will be fully shown in the discussion 
of seat work in a later chapter; for there is no valid 
reason to urge against using manual work as seat 
work for unoccupied groups or for children who 
finish their work ahead of the rest, and there are many 
valid reasons in favor, gained from actual experience. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE INSTRUCTION PERIOD 

In the last chapter frequent reference was made 
to periods of instruction and periods of seat work. 
Whether the use of the Group System is based upon 
the Constant Group scheme or upon the Shifting 
Group scheme, the daily program must provide for 
periods of instruction and periods of seat work, 
for each group of children and in each subject 
of study where grouping is done. The considera- 
tion of the period of instruction first invites atten- 
tion. 
Purposes It is during the instruction period that the children 

instruction in the particular group taught share in the develop- 
i. To ment of the lesson topic and derive the benefit of the 

teach. 

teacher's skill in its presentation and in the clear- 
ing away of its difficulties. Far from permitting a 
neglect of all that has been gained by the progress 
in the study of method during the last fifty years, 
the Group System demands that, during the in- 

58 



THE INSTRUCTION PERIOD 59 

struction period, the teacher must use all that she 
has learned of apperception, of the five formal steps 
in teaching, of the principles of education. Since, 
in the seat -work period to follow, either on the same 
day or later, the children must apply, unaided, in 
self-reliant study, and to specific problems, the 
knowledge gained during the previous period, it is 
essential that the teacher conduct her instruction 
period so that no confusion of thought can remain 
to cause the child's seat work to be wasted effort. 
This presentation, development, and thorough ex- 
planation of the new lesson topic is the primary 
use of the instruction period. 

Unless the teacher is both earnest and conscien- 2 . To hear 

i i s~^ lessons. 

tious, there accompanies the use of the Group 
System a danger that the instruction period will 
degenerate into a mere hearing of lessons studied 
in memoriter fashion during the seat-work period. 
A very urgent warning, therefore, must be given 
against usurping time which belongs to actual 
teaching for the hearing of set tasks which have 
not been preceded by careful presentation and 
development. Yet recitations must be heard, the 
children's progress, whether that resulting from 
teaching or that resulting from independent study, 



60 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

must be tested and noted. This constitutes the sec- 
ondary use of the instruction period, and a legitimate 
use, unless allowed to assume undue importance. 
3 . To reach A third purpose of the instruction period, as the 

the individ- . . 

uai. .time devoted to any one lesson topic advances and 

the groups grow smaller, is individual teaching. 
Individual instruction is intended especially for the 
benefit of children in Group C, so that by a new T 
presentation, a new way of approach, the discovery 
of some peculiar, childish, or individual misappre- 
hension, the teacher may remove for them the diffi- 
culty with which they are struggling. It is this use 
of the instruction period for individual teaching 
that the Group System has borrowed from the Pueblo 
and Batavia plans. As was early discovered in 
those experiments, so in the Group System is it 
important for the teacher to remember that the 
child knows really only what he does for himself, 
and for the teacher to avoid, therefore, telling a 
child the point which he has been so slow to grasp. 
Neither should the period of individual instruction 
ever be used for the development of a forthcoming 
lesson topic in the grade work. 

The problem of seating the group to receive in- 
struction has received considerable discussion, and 



THE INSTRUCTION PERIOD 61 

in crowded conditions may present real difficulty. Seating the 

group dur- 

Many plans have been suggested and tried, and all ing instmo 
of those which have practical value will be explained. 
The choice of which to use cannot be decided 
arbitrarily ; the teacher's own judgment must de- 
termine which is best adapted to her conditions, 
her program, her purposes. One plan arranges 
for the group receiving instruction to be isolated 
at the blackboard, the groups at seat work to remain 
in their regular places. According to a second 
plan, the teacher places at the front of the room a 
table with chairs around it for the use of the groups 
receiving instruction; the regular class seats are 
reserved for seat work and whole-class instruction. 
A third plan provides that the teacher calls up to 
her desk the group to receive instruction, leaving 
the other children in their seats at study or seat 
work. A fourth plan, more frequently used in city 
schools than any of the preceding, is that of reserv- 
ing one section of seats to be known as recitation 
section; the seats in the recitation section should 
not be assigned to any pupils as regular class seats, 
and when any one group is to receive instruction, 
the teacher merely gives directions to take seats in 
the recitation section. 



62 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

In large city schools, the plan in most common 
use is a modification of this last plan. One section 
of seats, usually that most conveniently placed for 
the largest amount of blackboard space, is known 
as the recitation section. As crowded conditions 
preclude the possibility of reserving it unoccupied 
as class seats, some pupils must change seats. In 
order to arrange for this with as little shifting as 
possible, the pupils are grouped and seated accord- 
ing to the grouping in the subject where the group- 
ing is most nearly constant, usually reading. These 
places are their regular class seats. For all subjects 
in which grouping is not used, the children occupy 
these same seats. For all other subjects in which 
grouping is done, the children change seats, re- 
maining in these seats only for the time given 
for the subject. To illustrate by citing instances 
seen in three different public schools in New 
York: — 

In a class of Grade 3 A, Third Year, First Half, 
in Public School 65, Girls' Department, the pupils' 
regular seats were assigned according to their group- 
ing in reading, the class being divided into three 
groups. During the reading lesson, no changes of 
seats were made. Group B read silently as seat 



THE INSTRUCTION PERIOD 63 

work throughout the period ; Group A was employed 
at seat work, part reading, part manual work, 
throughout the period ; Group C received instruction 
from the teacher, without changing from their regular 
seats. A penmanship lesson followed. The class 
was again divided into three groups, and the results 
of some previous period had evidently made them 
acquainted with their ranking. Group A, accord- 
ing to the penmanship grouping, received directions 
to take pens, penmanship papers, and arithmetics; 
Group B, to take sewing materials; Group C, to 
take pens and penmanship papers to the recitation 
section. It then developed that the seats occupied 
by Group C of the grouping for the reading lesson 
were the seats of the recitation section. The children 
already seated in that section, who were also in- 
cluded in Group C for penmanship, remained seated 
and made no change ; the rest of the children seated 
in that section left their seats and took those vacated 
by children who had been seated in other parts of 
the room, but must move to take seats in the recita- 
tion section as members of Group C in penmanship. 
The directions for seat work for Group A and 
Group B were meanwhile written on the blackboard 
by the teacher. The changes used up less than 



64 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

three minutes, and the children settled down at once 
to their respective tasks. 

Observation was also made in a class of Grade 2 A, 
Second Year, First Half, in Public School 2. When 
the visitor entered, the boys were at work at arith- 
metic in two groups; Group A was working ex- 
amples from questions on papers distributed by 
the teacher; the rest of the class was receiving 
instruction from the teacher. At the end of the 
period, the teacher spent a few hasty minutes in 
collecting and inspecting the seat work of Group A, 
giving particular care to that of two boys only, who 
were chosen, she said later, because of an attempt 
on a previous day to neglect their seat work. During 
these few minutes, the rest of the boys worked an 
example, and the two or three who finished before 
the teacher was ready, took some raffia work from 
their desks. The arithmetic period at an end, the 
children returned to their regular class seats at the 
teacher's command. A two-minute physical drill 
and a nature-study lesson followed, during which 
there was no mention of groups. Next, the teacher 
gave directions for a reading lesson. Groups A 
and C were told to take out the same book ; Group 
B, a different book, in which the teacher assigned 



THE INSTRUCTION PERIOD 65 

a definite portion for silent reading and certain facts 
of the story to be discovered. After a few minutes 
spent in reading aloud by individual children in 
Group A and quiet listening by those in Group C, 
the children of Group A were told to do illustrative 
drawing in relation to what they had read, and the 
teacher turned her attention for the rest of the period 
to drilling the pupils in Group C. Almost at the 
end of the period, the teacher called two boys from 
Group A to sit with two in Group C and help them. 
No seats were changed for this reading lesson, show- 
ing that in this class, also, the seats were assigned 
according to the grouping in reading. 

Still a third instance will be cited, so that teachers 
may have sufficient illustration of how to arrange 
the seating of their groups for instruction and seat 
work. This third observation was made in a third- 
year special class in Public School 120. Here the 
teacher had Constant Groups in both arithmetic and 
reading, and Shifting Groups in spelling and penman- 
ship. A reading lesson was first on the program. 
No changing of seats was necessary, the seating 
having been done according to the grouping in 
reading; in this case, however, the reason was the 
greater convenience in distributing books. To 



66 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Group A, seat work in a third reader was assigned ; 
to Group B and Group C together was given a short 
drill in phonics and phonograms, after which seat 
work in an easier third reader was assigned to Group 
B. With the use of a second reader, Group C re- 
ceived instruction from the teacher. After a two- 
minute physical drill, a penmanship lesson followed. 
It was the first lesson on a new letter, and the class 
received instruction as a whole. At the end of the 
period, the teacher glanced rapidly over the papers, 
saying, as she did so, " satisfactory, " or "need more 
drill," and listing them as Group A and B for 
the next penmanship lesson. An arithmetic lesson 
came next in order, and at the teacher's command, 
" Group B, take recitation seats," the boys seated 
as Group A for reading left their places and took 
seats vacated by those in Group B for arithmetic, 
guided somewhat by the teacher, who kept watch 
to prevent mischievous companionships. All the 
children in a group which is to receive instruction 
from the teacher must sit together. The other 
groups may or may not sit together, depending upon 
whether the teacher is willing that there shall be as- 
sistance given from pupil to pupil in the seat work, 
or whether she desires that the seat work shall be 



THE INSTRUCTION PERIOD 67 

absolutely independent effort. With this final word, 
and the illustrations given, enough has been said to 
guide the teacher in seating her children in groups 
for either the seat work or the instruction period. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK — PREPARA 
TION AND SUPERVISION 

The alternating period of study, or, as it is some- 
times called, the seat- work or busy- work period, 
needs careful attention, for the greatest problem 
of the Group System is to provide the groups not 
receiving instruction from the teacher with work 
having a definite end and possible of supervision 
and correction in the shortest possible space of time. 
If carelessly assigned, without proper relation to 
the subject-matter taught in the period of instruction, 
if not properly supervised, the seat work becomes 
an abuse. Instead of being trained in habits of 
self-reliant study, the great advantage we assert to 
be gained from the use of the Group System, the 
children become hopelessly given to careless, slovenly 
habits of thought and study, or, still worse, fall into 
ways of mischievous idleness. 
Aims of Properly planned, the seat work has four distinct 

seat work. 

aims: First, to make clearer the lessons already 

68 



THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 69 

learned, and give the pupil a chance to get a firm 
grasp of the principles involved. Second, to provide 
drill or practice in a lesson just presented to the class, 
and thereby make it permanent. Third, to prepare 
for the teaching of some new point. Fourth, in the 
upper grades particularly, to train the child to get 
new knowledge by independent, unaided study. If 
the teacher is to accomplish these aims, there are 
several considerations which she must constantly 
bear in mind, both in the preparation of seat work 
and in the supervision of it in the class room. Teach^ 
ers must be earnestly cautioned in regard to these 
points, for in places where the Group System has 
failed to give satisfactory results, the failure can be 
directly traced to errors in management of the seat- 
work problem. Of the two points involved, the 
preparation and the supervision of the seat work, 
the former is the crux of the whole question of suc- 
cess or failure in the use of the Group System. It 
is the first point in this seat-work or study period 
problem to which attention shall therefore be given. 

In the preparation of the seat work in any or all Seat work 

. . must be 

of the subjects in which grouping is made, the teacher real study. 
must see to it that the seat work calls for real study, 
and is not mere busy work. From neglect of this 



70 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

thought has come the discredit now generally at- 
tached to the term "busy work." The discredit 
has been justly earned, too, as may be readily dis- 
covered from the perusal of many of the books and 
journals supposedly meeting the demand for sug- 
gestive busy work. The teachers who prepared 
the plans and types of seat work given in the suc- 
ceeding chapters were compelled to read through 
an enormous mass of material in order to glean 
what had really pedagogic merit. Much of it had 
to be rejected as being without any purpose except 
to keep the child in the study group quietly busy. 
Such seat work is easy to think of, and requires little 
time in preparation. Yet the fact that teachers' mag- 
azines devote so much space to this sort of mate- 
rial shows that teachers are feeling and express- 
ing their need. Let the teacher, then, whether she 
prepares her own seat-work exercises or selects them 
from suggestions in books or magazines, submit 
every exercise to the test of its value as real study. 
Must have One of the best tests of study value of a seat -work 
lation to exercise is its relation to the grade work and to the 

course of . 

study. course of study. That relation must be very definite, 

and as clear to the pupil as to the teacher. If the 
child's seat-work exercise is the working of four or 



THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 71 

five problems in arithmetic, he must understand, as 
well as the teacher, that those problems are in illus- 
tration of some point taught by the teacher, or in drill 
on some point in which he has a known weakness. 
If, during the reading period, Group A is to do seat 
work, and needs no further drill on the lesson the 
class is studying, supplementary reading in some 
other subject will be legitimate seat work of real 
study value, recognized by the pupil as well as the 
teacher ; for he will know that he is receiving practice 
in reading, and in addition is gaining new knowledge 
on the subject-matter of some other lesson. The 
definite relationship of the seat work to the grade work 
and the course of study is, then, the second considera- 
tion the teacher must bear in mind in the preparation 
of seat work. 

Another evil laid to busy work and bringing con- Must not 

r^ o «i require 

sequent discredit to the Group System is that seat constant 
work which really keeps children busy demands 
constant writing. The resultant injury to penman- 
ship, of course, is obvious. That this is necessarily 
so is entirely untrue. The best types of seat work 
for the lowest grades require little or no writing. 
Reference to the suggestions given in Chapter IV 
in illustration of the method of classification into 



72 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

groups in a first-year class, will show that little use 
of writing is there demanded. Examinations of the 
types of seat work in the succeeding chapters will 
show that the intention of the seat work recommended 
is to get away from written exercises and to demand 
logical thought, systematic use of various materials, 
and trained use of a text-book. So shall seat work 
and the Group System accomplish its most valuable 
end, — teaching the child to study, — and so shall 
seat work be redeemed from the odium of injury to 
penmanship. The teacher's third consideration in 
the preparation of seat work is, therefore, that 
it must not demand constant writing. 
Must have In the fourth place, the teacher must be sure that 
the seat work will interest the child and fix his at- 
tention. Interest does not at all necessarily mean 
please in the sense of amuse. If the three preceding 
cautions have been heeded by the teacher, little 
thought need be given to the interest of the seat work. 
Interest perforce accompanies an exercise the value 
and relationship of which are clear, and the material 
for which need thought and careful handling. Also, 
when, as is increasingly true, the manual work pro- 
vides seat- work occupations, the question of interest 
ceases to complicate the seat-work problem. In all 



THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 73 

certainty, however, the teacher must insure the child's 
interest in his seat work and consequent attention, 
else he is likely to have a disorderly group, and 
will fail to give the child habits of self-reliant 
study. 

In the upper grades, where study from text-books use of a 

f"£*xt— honk 

can be required as seat work, the teacher's labor in as seat 

. . work. 

preparation of seat work is not nearly so great as in 
the grades below. Just as early in the grades as 
possible the teacher should begin to train the chil- 
dren to use a text-book for seat work and silent study. 
Even in the lowest grades, she can begin by training 
the little ones to look at a picture book, and next to 
read a story in quiet order throughout a seat-work 
period. It is becoming less and less the practice of 
parents in the home to oversee the home study of 
their children, and the duty of teaching the child to 
study a text-book rests upon the teacher more heavily 
than ever before. And the use of a book for purposes 
of study is something requiring definite teaching 
and no easy task. In assigning work from a text- 
book for study during the seat-work period, the 
teacher is not only preparing valuable busy work, 
but giving training in how to study. 

Still another suggestion may be added to assist 



74 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



in the solution of this problem of preparation of seat 
work, for the teacher may save much labor by pre- 
serving the seat-work exercises for use by different 
groups. The same seat work may be used at differ- 
ent times in the term. In the second period devoted 
to a lesson topic, Group A does seat work; let 
Group B use the same exercise in the third period, 
and Group C, the same exercise at some later period. 
Care in preparing and preserving seat-work plans 
and devices will spare the teacher a vast amount of 
time and labor, and will teach the child to be system- 
atic and orderly. 

The teacher's preparation of seat work earnestly 
done with these considerations borne in mind, the 
difficulties which make the problem of supervision 
of the seat work are almost all removed. Some two 
or three points remain to be enforced as relating 
directly to the teacher's duties in supervising and 
correcting seat work. Neglect of these points will 
just as surely cause failure as will neglect of the con- 
siderations treated in the discussion of the teacher's 
duties in preparing seat work. 

Probably the first in importance is the correcting 
of the seat work assigned. That the teacher does 
not correct the seat work, that errors and faults, 



THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 75 

whether of accident, ignorance, or intention, escape 
her detection, and that no explanation of errors due 
to ignorance or punishment of carelessness follows 
the doing of the seat work, — these things rapidly 
become known to the children. They feel that the 
work has no material value, and soon cease to do any 
real studying. The failure to correct and super- 
vise the seat work is one cause of the slovenly habits 
and mischievous idleness which have in some places 
been alleged to result from the use of the Group 
System. No need exists for the correction of the 
seat work to become a burden to the teacher. Poor 
methods of management with regard to preparation, 
as well as the correction of seat work, are responsible 
for the extraordinary number of hours some teachers 
report that they spend upon their class work in con- 
sequence of the use of the Group System. It is the 
written seat work which uses up so much time and 
effort in correction, and therefore, if the teacher plans 
seat work of a kind which demands little or no writ- 
ing, as suggested in the discussion of the preparation 
of seat work, the labor of correction has been con- 
siderably lessened. 

In the second place, each period of seat work in The super- 

1 . ,. , . - vision of 

any study is, according to our planning of a pro- seat work. 



76 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

gram as given in Chapter V, followed in the next 
period devoted to that subject, by a short drill. 
During the drill the teacher's questions will expose 
the faithfulness to study during the seat-work period 
preceding. In the third place, if the teacher has 
reasons for making immediately clear to the pupils 
that their work is not escaping correction, she may 
pass rapidly down the aisles, selecting apparently 
at random work to which she gives careful correction 
before the entire class. Let her include in this random 
selection the work of all children whom she suspects 
of neglect or idleness. A fourth suggestion for re- 
lieving the labor of correction comes from a plan 
followed by some teachers who have trained pupils 
of the brightest section to be helpers in the correction 
of busy work. Thus, Group A's seat work may 
sometimes consist in the correction of exercises done 
by Groups B and C. A fundamental fact in human 
nature insures the doing of this form of seat work 
without very much forcing or watching on the part 
of the teacher, and the close examination of papers 
demanded from the members of Group A insures 
the requisite amount of drill for Group A. Likewise 
is insured careful examination on the part of the 
members of Group B or Group C on the return of 



THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 7.7 

their papers, so strong will be their wish to see that 
full justice is done them. It saves the teacher's 
labor and it prevents disturbance and interruption. 
The arguments and appeals to the teacher which 
follow the return of the papers, if wisely managed, 
are not disturbances, but another means of enforcing 
the point at issue. 

Finally, the supervision and correction of seat work Definite as- 
are considerably easier when the teacher makes her 
assignments clearly and definitely in simple language. 
Part of this defmiteness will consist in giving the 
assignments in written directions, whether on the 
blackboard or on charts or on slips of paper or cards 
distributed to each child, removing in such manner 
the possibility of disturbing questions from the for- 
getful or thoughtless child. 

By constant insistence upon responsibility for 
work assigned, by planning the seat work so that a 
rapid glance at the child's desk will detect glaring 
errors, if not all; by sharp questioning during the 
drill period following the seat-work period; by oc- 
casionally correcting immediately the work of a few 
children, always including that of the child of care- 
less habits ; by using pupil helpers ; by occasionally 
returning carefully corrected and marked papers 



78 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

done during a period of written seat work, the teacher 
will secure opportunity to do the inevitable correc- 
tion of seat work without imposing upon herself 
an unnecessarily heavy burden outside of school 
hours. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 

Practical Management 

A few suggestions on the management of the seat- 
work group and on the arrangement of seat-work ma- 
terials may greatly assist the busy, earnest teacher, 
and go far towards removing some of the discipline 
problems with which a weak teacher finds herself 
confronted. 

The secret of order in any group during the study Keep every 

child busy. 

period lies in keeping every member of the group 
busy. It is usually wise to give out more work than 
can possibly be accomplished in the time given. Of 
this work a certain amount should be fixed upon as 
the minimum ; for the accomplishment of this mini- 
mum the teacher must hold each pupil responsible, 
although, of course, she will not let any child know 
in advance that there is a minimum, or what the 
minimum will be. 

Pupils at seat work must not be allowed to dis- No dis- 
turb one another or the teacher by asking questions questions or 

r i t • mi • r i • directions. 

or for repeated directions. This is part of their 

79 



80 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

training in self-reliance. Neither must teachers dis- 
turb the thought of pupils at seat work or destroy 
the continuity of the lesson for the group under 
instruction by interrupting the work of the one to 
correct the work of the other. Definite assignments 
should avert any necessity for doing so. If occasion 
arises when it cannot be avoided, the teacher should 
give the needed explanation briefly and quietly, re- 
turning at once to the group she is teaching. 
Pupil The use of pupil teachers may be of great assistance 

teachers. . . . . _ 

m securing both the points just mentioned. One 
bright child may be designated to take charge of a 
group at seat work. He may be called " Captain" 
or "Helper," or some other term which will hold his 
interest in his task by its appeal to his natural am- 
bition and love of praise and will also confer upon 
him authority in the eyes of his mates. Making sure 
that he thoroughly understands the work assigned 
to the group, the teacher may then leave with him the 
duty of answering necessary questions, while at the 
same time he studies his own lesson. This is the 
third use of pupil teachers alluded to in this dis- 
cussion of the Group System. In one instance, 
they are used to give instruction to backward chil- 
dren or to children absent from school on the day 



THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 81 

of the first presentation of the lesson. In another, 
to assist in the correction of seat work, and in the 
third, to act as a guide or helper to a group at seat 
work. In all these instances, the assistance to the 
teacher is great, and the training to the child of even 
greater value. Yet the teacher must be cautious in 
her use of pupil teachers, for there are many evils 
which might creep in. 

In the discussion of the teacher's preparation of seat Care of 
work, allusion was made in the last chapter to care 
in the preparation and preservation of seat- work 
plans and devices and their value in training the 
child to be systematic and orderly. In Chapter II, 
the statement was made that since the materials and 
busy work devices a child uses are not his, and must 
be preserved intact for his classmates to use later, 
he learns care for other people's rights and prop- 
erties. It is time to call attention to this training 
as part of the practical management of seat work. 
The teacher must make teaching and training in the 
care, arrangement, and systematic use of seat work 
materials definitely one of her aims. Even in the 
lowest primary grades she can begin. For example, 
the children may have received a box of numbers or 
number cards with which to perform certain opera- 



82 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

tions by laying the cards out on their desks so as to 
make the required combinations. They should be 
taught that they must first assort their number cards 
so that all which bear the same number are in little 
orderly stacks, from which they select the needed 
numbers. By this means they avoid repeated han- 
dling and soiling of the cards; they have learned 
something in systematic arrangement; they have 
had the teaching value of successively repeated im- 
pressions of the same number and the same number 
combination. Further illustration may be obtained 
from the suggestions which follow. 
Distnbu- Many a teacher fails in discipline and in power 

materials, to interest her class without knowing that her failure 
is due to her lack of care and system in the distribu- 
tion and collection of materials. Trying under all 
sorts of class-room conditions, but likely to become 
the most intolerable torment under the Group Sys- 
tem, is just the distribution of material alone. Some 
general rules must be made and rigidly adhered to 
by both teacher and pupils. Some kinds of work 
and some materials the children may be allowed to 
keep in their desks and use at need. Some other 
materials may be placed conveniently, and the 
children trained to help themselves independently 



THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 83 

of teacher or monitor. Some materials may be put 
into the care of children who are held responsible 
for their care, distribution, and collection. A few 
schemes actually in use in many class rooms in many 
different schools may be found helpful. 

1. What tools are frequently in use may be kept 
together in boxes or bags, each individual child having 
his own box. Into these boxes may be placed pens, 
pencils, little pans for paint, a brush, a compass, a 
pair of scissors, instruments that may be needed for 
raffia or other forms of manual work, etc. These 
boxes should be distributed before school opens in 
the morning, and should be collected at dismissal time. 
During the day they remain the care of the child 
himself in his own desk. Distribution and collection 
may be the duty of a monitor appointed for the 
purpose. In any case, the boxes should be inspected 
daily to insure care and economy in the use of ma- 
terials. 

2. Blank books, supplementary readers, etc., which 
will be needed for use during the day, may be laid 
out on a shelf or table. The child should be trained 
to help himself from this shelf or table to material 
that belongs to him. Monitors or helpers may be ap- 
pointed to the duty of sorting these materials at the 



84 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

end of the day and of returning them to their proper 
places in the closet. 

3. Materials like pegs, boxes of letters, etc., may 
have assigned to them given closet space. Helpers 
may then have the task of distributing such matter 
when need arises. 

4. Much of the seat work can be written or printed 
on charts which may be put away in some fashion for 
ready reference. They may be kept on a line under 
the blackboard. When needed for use, a chart may 
be hung up by means of clasps on lines on the level 
with the blackboard. Lines for hanging charts may 
be made of fine wire kept in place by hooks. 

5. Many of the seat- work devices and directions 
can be written or printed on cards or sheets of paper 
of standard size. These may be filed away in en- 
velopes in boxes properly labeled, distributed at 
need, and preserved for use in many terms and 
classes. 

Frequent mention has been made of seat work. 
No matter what method of using the Group System 
may be adopted, skillfully planned busy work is 
indispensable and is in some respects the most valu- 
able feature of the Group System. It is by means 
of the busy work that we get our finest opportunity 



THE STUDY PERIOD AND SEAT WORK 85 

to insist upon independent, self-reliant thought 
and work. But it must be strongly emphasized that 
unless this busy work is simply used as a device and 
is accompanied by careful teaching, according to the 
most approved methods, and by equally careful 
correction f . the result will be worse than under the 
uniform, machine-made methods of regular whole- 
class teaching. Neither must the preparation of the 
busy work be allowed to take so much time and labor 
that the much more valuable features of the Group 
System become obscured. 

We are now ready to give our attention to types 
of seat work which may be recommended. The illus- 
trations which are given in the succeeding chapters 
have been selected from over five hundred different 
devices which Miss Leary and Miss Quish have been 
nearly four years in collecting and experimenting 
with. They are arranged according to subject and in 
the order of difficulty. In preparing these plans of 
seat work, the teacher should make as many sepa- 
rate copies of each exercise as there are children in 
the group ; mimeograph and hektograph afford ready 
means of repeating. 



CHAPTER IX 

PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 

Reading 
Exercise i 

Grade. — First school year. 

Aim and Value. — Drill is provided in the rec- 
ognition of new words. Hand and eye are both 
employed without injury to penmanship. The ex- 
ercise may be used either as preparation for a reading 
lesson to follow, or as drill on new words occurring 
in a lesson previously taught. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher makes 
drawings with hektograph ink on oak tag and strikes 
off several copies. These are cut up and placed in 
envelopes so that each envelope contains one of each 
drawing. The drawings are in illustration of a 
reading lesson ; for example, a story of Alice going 
to school, carrying her lunch and a cup and saucer 
in a basket. Beside each pictured object in the 
drawing the name is written. 

86 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 



87 



On separate sheets of oak tag she writes or prints 
several times each word found on the drawings, as : — 

Alice school cup saucer basket 

Alice school cup saucer basket 

Alice school cup saucer basket 

Alice school cup saucer basket 





basket 




CU P Sobucer 



After striking off on the hektograph as many copies 
as were made of the drawings, she cuts these copies 
up so that each word will be on a separate slip of 
oak tag. She places in the envelopes with the 
drawings several copies of each word. Consequently, 
each envelope contains one complete set of the draw- 
ings and several complete sets of the words. 

Each child who uses the exercise as busy work 
will receive an envelope. He will place a drawing 
at the back of his desk. In columns in front of the 



88 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

drawing, he must then place the words found on the 
slips, corresponding to the words on the drawing, 
selecting every copy of each word from the slips he 
finds in his envelope. He must repeat this until 
every drawing and all the words have been correctly 
placed in columns or rows. The teacher can tel] 
at a glance, as she passes down the aisle, whether the 
work has been correctly done or not. 

Exercise 2 

Grade. — First school year. 

Aim and Value. — It provides drill in the recog- 
nition of phonic elements, in the recognition of a 
word because it contains a known phonic element, 
and in the recognition of words previously learned 
because they have certain phonic elements in com- 
mon. 

Preparation and Method. — During its period of 
instruction, the group will talk with the teacher about 
the words having as common phonic element, all, 
at, ed. They will blend with these phonograms as 
many other sounds as time allows. They will learn 
to associate the phonogram all with the word ball, the 
phonogram at with the word cat, the phonogram ed 
with the word bed. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 



89 



On a large sheet of oak tag, the teacher makes 
drawings of a ball, a cat, and a bed. Beneath each, 




she prints the word ball, cat, or bed, underlining 
the phonograms all, at, ed. Several copies are made, 
cut up into separate slips and placed in envelopes, so 
that each envelope has one of each drawing. 

On a second sheet of oak tag, the following words 
are printed in columns : — 



ball 


cat 


bed 


fall 


rat 


fed 


call 


sat 


led 


wall 


fat 


Ned 


stall 


bat 


shed 


hall 


hat 


red 



Copies are made and cut ug into as many slips as 
there are words. The slips are placed in the en- 
velope with the drawings. 

The child takes from the envelope the drawing 



90 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

of a ball with which he has associated the phono- 
gram all. He finds the word ball and lays it on his 
desk below the picture of a ball. He then arranges 
in a column on his desk all the words having the same 
phonic element, all. Similar work is done with the 
others. 

Exercise 3 

This is really the same exercise as given in Ex- 
ercise 2, but it is somewhat more difficult. The 
method of work is the same, except in the preparation 
of the second sheet of oak tag. The columns of 
words this time are to be printed so that, when cut 
up, all the phonograms will be on separate slips, 
and the sounds to be combined with them to make 
words will also be on separate slips, thus : — 



b all 


c at 


b ed 


f all 


r at 


f ed 


c all 


s at 


1 ed 


w all 


f at 


N ed 


h all 


b at 


r ed 


st all 


h at 


sh ed 



In doing the work on his desk, the child is given the 
additional task of forming the new words by laying 
the slips together. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 91 

Exercise 4 

Grade. — First school year. 

Aim and Value. — As in Exercise 2, with the ad- 
ditional value that the picture gives to the sound. 

Preparation and Method. — In the center of a 
circle draw or paste a picture of a pail to impress upon 
the child the sound 
of at. At intervals g] 
on the circumference 
of the circle, place 
letters or combina- * 




tions of letters to be 

used by the child in 

making other words 

containing the same 

sound of ai. Let him 

write his words on paper, or, better still, give him a 

box of printed letters to build up the words on his 

desk. Do not let him form only words ending in I, 

else the exercise becomes a drill in the phonogram 

ail. 

Exercise 5 

Grade. — First school year. 

Aim and Value. — It provides drill in changing 



92 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

from script to print and vice versa, and in the recog- 
nition of words previously taught. 

Preparation and Method. — On a sheet of oak tag, 
the teacher writes and prints, in alternate columns, 
the words required for the exercise. The words 
chosen should consist of words which have presented 
difficulties in spelling or reading. Each column of 
words should then be cut up so that each written 
form and each printed form of each word shall be on 
separate slips. Neither two different words nor two 
forms of the same word are to be on the same slip. 
The slips are placed in the envelopes. The child 
must select from his envelope all the printed and all 
the script copies of each word, and place them beside 
each other on his desk. When finished, his desk 
will look very much the same as the oak tag sheet 
before it was cut up. 

Exercise 6 

Grade. — First school year. 

Aim and Value. — It provides drill in reading, 
in sentence building, in changing from script to 
print. Other values are similar to those stated in 
Exercise i. 

Preparation and Method. — The child is provided 




PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 93 

with a card of oak tag, on which the work is arranged 
as in the illustration. On the back of the card 
is pasted an envelope containing all the material 
needed to reproduce on his desk a facsimile of the 

I tave a, cat. 

I see a. cal 

card. The printed words must be book print, cut 
from old text books, as the teacher's print, although 
good enough for other exercises, does not resemble 
book print closely enough to provide just the drill 
intended. 

Exercise 7 

Grade. — First school year. 

Aim and Value. — It provides drill in the recog- 
nition of words because of a common phonic ele- 
ment. 

Preparation and Method. — On a card of oak tag, 
the teacher draws a circle within which she writes 
a phonogram already known to the class. Lines are 



94 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



drawn extending from the circle like rays. At the 
end of each line is placed a letter representing a 
single sound ; to illustrate : — 




This card is given to the child. He constructs 
words by combining the letters, as single sounds, one 
at a time, with the phonogram within the circle. 
As he constructs each word, he writes it on paper 
provided him for that purpose. 

Exercise 8 
This exercise consists of a combination of the one 
described in Exercise 7 with a step in advance. The 
new step has for its 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 95 

Aim and Value. — The meaning and use of the 
words taught by the fact that the child must decide 
which is the appropriate word to use in each sentence. 

Preparation and Method. — The upper part of the 
card is arranged as in Exercise 7. In the lower part 
of the card are printed several sentences involving 
the use of the words constructed. The words are 
omitted from the sentences; the spaces where the 
words belong are filled with dots, a dot for each 
letter, thus: — 

I see the * * * 

I * * * see the * * * 

The * * * uses the * * * 

He is given an envelope which contains, on cut-up 
papers, all the words needed to make the sentences 
complete. 

He writes his list of words as in Exercise 7. He 
then builds up the sentences found on the lower half 
of the card, selecting from the list he has made words 
to put in the dotted spaces. 

Exercise 9 

Grade. — First and second school year. 
Aim and Value. — Drill on certain frequently 
recurring phonograms. 



96 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher writes 
on oak tag lists of words containing the phonic 
elements: eed, each, ight. The writing is done so 
that a space separates the phonic elements from the 
rest of the word, thus : — 

f eed t ight r each 

This is done so that when a sufficient number of 
copies have been made with the hektograph, the sets 
can be cut up with the phonic elements all on separate 
slips of oak tag. The slips are placed in envelopes. 

The child builds up on his desk as follows : — 



w eed 


t ight 


t each 


f eed 


s ight 


r each 


n eed 


f ight 


b each 


h eed 


n ight 


p each 



On paper he writes the words he has built, thus 
receiving an impression of the appearance of each 
word when written as a whole. 

Exercise 10 

Grade. — First and second school year. 

Aim and Value. — Drill on words containing cer- 
tain frequently recurring phonograms. Informal drill 
in spelling. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 97 

Preparation and Method. — On a large sheet of 
oak tag, the teacher writes columns of words con- 
taining the phonograms: eep, ill, ay, et. Several 
copies are struck off on the hektograph, cut up so 
that each word is on a separate slip, and placed in 
envelopes. On the outside of the envelope the teacher 
writes: eep, ill, ay, et. 

The child selects the words from the envelope and 
places together on his desk all words having the same 
phonogram. His desk, when work is completed, 
will look somewhat as follows : — 



lay 


let 


deep 


deed 


hill 


pay 


bet 


weep 


feed 


bill 


stay 


set 


creep 


seed 


fill 


may 


met 


keep 


need 


rill 


bay 


get 


peep 


weed 


mill 



This exercise admits of infinite extension. 

Exercise 11 

Grade. — : First and second school year. 

Aim and Value. — Drill in recognition of sounds 
and of words containing given sounds. The element 
of play introduced by calling the exercise a game 
and comparing the chart to a checkerboard is very 



98 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

valuable to children in special classes, who must 
often be deluded into doing mental labor requiring 
any amount of concentration. 

Preparation and Method. — Divide a sheet of oak 
tag or heavy paper into squares like a checkerboard. 
Cut out from books pictured objects to represent 
different sounds of a; for example, a cake, a can, a 
car, etc. All these can be obtained from adver- 
tisement pages. Paste each picture in a square, 
leaving plenty of space in the square for the child's 
work. Cut up printed slips on which are words 
containing the desired sounds. The children are to 
place each printed word in the space where the pic- 
tured object represents its particular sound of a. 
If desirable to aid the children still further, print 
beneath the picture its name, with the correct dia- 
critical marking of the a ; as, can, cake. 

Exercise 12 

Grade. — Second school year. 

Aim and Value. — To aid child in recognizing 
sounds of letters and enable him to give the letters 
even when they occur in hitherto unfamiliar com- 
binations. 

Preparation and Method. — Give considerable pre- 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 99 

vious teaching to make children realize that add- 
ing an e at the end of a word makes the letter in the 
middle say its own name; as, slid, slide. Prepare 
hektographed copies of large sheets divided into two 
columns, the first column to contain a list of words 
which will illustrate the point to be drilled. In the 
second column, the child is to prove its truth by 
writing the word with the e added. Thus : — 
Teacher's Work Child's Work 

slid slide 

not note 

cut cute 

at ate 

bit bite 

mat mate 

At the close of the exercise require him to pro- 
nounce the words in both columns. 

Exercise 13 

Grade. — Second school year. 

Aim and Value. — This exercise is one of the 
most valuable of all those suggested, and is capable 
of much imitation and amplification. It provides 
drill in sentence building, in reading, in the recog- 



ioo TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

nition of words having a common phonic element, 
and in building words from known phonic elements. 
Preparation and Method. — Make a drawing of a 
fish on a large card of oak tag. The word fin is 
printed above the fins of the fish, and the word fish 
beneath the picture. The phonic elements to be 
drilled by this exercise are found in these two words. 
In columns, below the picture of the fish, are printed 
several words having the same phonic element, 
thus : — 







/rUvjf^ 


&w- 




"^■&y yjwjt J u , 


^>;r^2g^ r 




fish -— 

fish fin 
wish bin 
dish win 


<Ji/*£ 






gold 
told 
hold 


him 
swim 



The last two are added for review and because 
they are useful words for the sentence building to 
come later. On the same card are printed several 
sentences about the fish, taken directly from the class 
reader. 






PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK ioi 

Lulu has a pretty fish. 

It is a goldfish. 

The fish has fins. 

The fish can swim. 

After several copies have been struck off on the 
hektograph, one card is kept intact as a model for 
the child to study and imitate. The others are cut 
up into separate slips, as follows : — 

i. The drawing of the fish. 

2. The words for the phonic drill, each word sepa- 
rate. 

3. The sentences, each complete sentence being 
on a slip by itself. The teacher must be careful 
not to cut up the sentences into separate words. 

The child arranges on his desk a facsimile of the 
card. To do this, he must say every word over to 
himself and must read every sentence. 



CHAPTER X 

PLANS AND TYPES OP SEAT WORK 

Composition, Language, Spelling 

Exercise i 

Grade. — Second school year. 

Aim and Value. — This is the first step in the con- 
struction of sentences with composition as a definite 
aim to be accomplished. The work is done without 
writing, with no injury to penmanship. In this ex- 
ercise, which is the first step, the boy reconstructs 
sentences which have been given him; his mind, 
consequently, is fixed on the construction, not on the 
thought. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher prepares 
all the work on a large sheet of oak tag and cuts it 
up after a sufficient number of copies have been 
struck off. 

A card is kept entire. On it the teacher places a 
picture of a horse and writes beneath the picture the 
following sentences : — 

See my horse. 

It is a large horse. 

1 02 






PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 

My horse has four feet. 

Baby can drive him. 

My horse wears four iron shoes. 

He eats grass, hay, and oats. 

He will pull heavy loads for his master. 



103 




lUv, *H4Si4ju ^ui/ JL^v -$^. 

In the envelope are placed slips bearing these 
same words. The child keeps his model card before 



I©4 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

him, searches in his envelope for the requisite words, 
and constructs the sentences by laying the slips beside 
one another on his desk. 



Exercise 2 

Grade. — Second and third school year. 

Aim and Value. — This is the second step in the 
construction of sentences with composition as a 
definite end in view. The child's thought is still 
fixed on the construction of the sentence, but he must 
pay a little closer attention to the thought, for reasons 
which will appear in the next paragraph. 

Preparation and Method. — On each side of a 
drawing of a sleeping lion and a mouse, the teacher 
writes words omitted from the following sentences. 
The sentences are written beneath the picture on the 
same paper. 

A mouse under the paws of a sleeping . 

The lion awoke. 

The mouse for his life. 

The let the little mouse go. 

Lion hunters the lion. 

They — — him to a post. 
The heard his roar. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 105 

The mouse gnawed the . 

The lion got away. 



A second copy of the sentences is cut up and 
placed in an envelope, together with separate copies 
of the words on either side of the picture. 

The child decides what one of the words on either 
side of the picture should be fitted into the blank 
space in each sentence. On his desk he constructs 
each sentence complete. 



io6 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



Exercise 3 

Grade. — Second and third school year. 

Aim and Value. — Sentence structure is again the 
aim, but this third step necessitates a little closer 
attention to what is said. In addition, this exercise 
affords a training in spelling and in the use of words. 




Cut, ; QXJkxAs 



Preparation and Method. — The preparation of 
the work is identical with that of Exercise 2, with 
the exception that instead of leaving blank spaces 
for the omitted words in the sentences, the teacher 
puts dots, a dot for each letter of the word omitted, 
and omits more than one word in each sentence, 
thus : — 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 107 

Two goats met **a******. 

X lie W3,s vcrv . 

Neither would give * * * to the * * * * *. 

They ran together. 

They both * * * * into the * * * * *. 

They barely ***** th e j r lives. 

The ***** had learned a ***** *. 

The child's method of using the work is the same 
as in Exercise 2. These sentences are taken from 
the familiar story of the two goats who met on a 
narrow bridge. 

Exercise 4 

Grade. — Third school year. 

Aim and Value. — This exercise gives us a fourth 
step in the teaching of sentence structure. 

Also, the child is trained in observation, in answer- 
ing questions, and in writing description. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher pastes 
on a card a picture of a boy on a farm, cut from a 
reader. Beneath the picture are printed certain 
words : farm, four, so, hens, grandpa. These words 
will be needed in the construction of sentences. On 
the back of the same card, or on another, the teacher 
writes the following questions : — 



io8 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



Who has a big farm? 

Whom do I like to go to see ? 

How many horses and cows are there? 

What do I do on the farm? 

What do I do on the horse? 




txvrn 

*9oifcY 



It will readily be seen that with just the addition 
of a word or two, statements can be made of these 
questions with but very little change. All the 
words necessary to construct the statements are 
written on a large sheet of oak tag, cut up, and 
placed in envelopes together with the cards. The 
child selects from his envelope the words he needs 
and builds up on his desk: — 

Grandpa has a big farm. 

I like to go to see grandpa. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 109 

There are four horses and two cows. 
I feed the hens on the farm. 
I ride on the horse. 

Exercise 5 

Grade. — Third school year. 

Aim and Value. — The child receives training in 
sentence structure, in the formation of a paragraph, 
in the writing of descriptive composition. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher pastes a 
picture of a kite on a card, or makes a drawing of 
one. On another card the following questions are 
written: — 

Of what is your kite made? 
What shape is the kite? 
What colors are on the kite? 
Is it a large or a small kite? 
What do you put at the end? 
Of what is the tail made? 

On a large sheet of oak tag, the teacher writes 
every word that can be needed to answer these ques- 
tions. When there have been made sufficient copies 
to fill as many envelopes as there are boys to use the 
exercise, all are cut up so that each word is on a 



no TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

separate slip. When the child receives his envelope, 
he takes out his picture and examines it; he reads 
his questions and considers the answers in relation 







trf -tArkcut, a^ LlouA, -filtL yyveuct^ £ 

wrUcJt do h*vO kuui* a£ ~cIol e^^L ? 

to the picture ; he builds on his desk with the cut-up 
slips of words the answers to these questions. 

When he has finished, he copies his sentences on 
paper, arranging them in one paragraph, thus gain- 
ing the idea of a paragraph. To do this, he must 
first receive a suggestion or two from the teacher. 

Probably the best feature of teaching children para- 
graph structure in this manner is that all danger 
of the dreadful "and" habit is entirely averted. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK in 

Exercise 6 

Grade. — Third school year. 

Aim and Value. — As in Exercise 5, except that it 
is narrative composition, not descriptive. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher cuts from 
a book a picture of two squirrels sitting on the limb 
of a tree and pastes it on a card. From the story in 
the book, she cuts out little phrases which suggest 
the story, and pastes them on either side of the pic- 
ture They are to be cut from print to give child exer- 
cise in reading book print. She should choose such 
phrases as will, when used in the sentences of the 
paragraph, make a continuous composition. Be- 
neath the picture she writes, as helps (the first step 
towards teaching the use of topics), the following: — 

What Mary saw. 

What the squirrel did. 

Tell the story of Mary and the squirrel. 

In this exercise, when the child receives his envel- 
ope, he does no building on his desk with cut-up 
slips of words. After he has examined his picture, 
read the various phrases pasted beside the picture, 
and thought about what "Mary saw" and "the 
squirrels did," he "tells the story of Mary and the 
squirrel " in one written paragraph. 



112 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



She looked up and 
saw 

bough of a tree. 

" I like you, little squirrel 

he leaped up 

gray squirrel sitting 

chip," he called 

He sat upright 

acorn in his 




W-h^ut htdSlAj ybtUKtr. 

fjdl clt, /thy <J Tyusty W zL/yMl. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 



JI 3 



Exercise 7 

Grade. — Third and fourth school year. 

Aim and Value. — As in Exercise 6. The step 
in advance is that the teacher gives fewer aids, noth- 
ing, indeed, outside of the picture and a few necessary 
words. 







Jt^LAjryx^d^ 






Preparation and Method. — The teacher copies 
from a book the picture of the crow that dropped 
pebbles into the water to cause the water to rise 



114 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

higher and permit him to drink. Beneath the pic- 
ture the following words are written : — 

thirsty found 

saw pebbles 

pitcher dropped 

little one by one 

water drank 

Of course the reading and study of the fable must 
precede the use of this exercise in busy work. The 
child is given the card just described, with instruc- 
tions to tell the story, using the words suggested. 
When ready, he writes it in one paragraph. 

Exercise 8 

Grade. — Third and fourth school year. 

Aim and Value. — Similar to many of those de- 
scribed with an additional step of difficulty. 

Preparation and Method. — In a conversation les- 
son, the story of Hiawatha is talked about and a 
picture is shown of Hiawatha in his birch-bark 
canoe. As busy work, the teacher prepares, in the 
manner described many times before, a card on which 
she pastes or draws a picture of an Indian in a canoe. 
The list of words is written beside the picture in order 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 115 

to suggest sentences. Having prepared a large num- 
ber of possible sentences, the teacher cuts them all 
up into separate slips of a word each, and places all 
the slips in an envelope. The child uses the slips 
to construct sentences, telling something suggested 
by the picture. The additional step of difficulty 
lies in the fact that the sentences must be original, 
although all the words necessary may be found in 
the envelopes. The following shows the results 
obtained in one instance: — 

Hiawatha went into the forest. He looked for a 
birch tree. I want a canoe. I will build it of birch 
bark. The bark is the cloak of the birch tree. 
The canoe will float upon the river. 

Exercise 9 

Grade. — Third and fourth school year. 

Aim and Value. — Reproduction, with language 
particularly in view. 

Preparation and Method. — Tell a short story to 
the group. Read it to them in the same words used 
in telling. Distribute envelopes in which are cut- 
up slips, sufficient to tell the whole story in the same 
words. Inclose a picture, if possible, as an aid to 
interest and memory. The children must build up 



n6 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

the story on their own desks. The short fables are 
excellent for this purpose. 

Exercise 10 

Grade. — Third and fourth school year. 

Aim and Value. — As in Exercise 9, with an 
additional step. The last sentence is the child's 
original composition, and it requires him to use 
thought and imagination. 

Preparation and Method. — As in Exercise 9. 
When the child has finished reproducing the story, 
ask him to tell in his own words the thought or teach- 
ing, the moral, of the story. This gives him exercise 
in original construction and teaches him to look for 
hidden meaning, for purpose, in the words of others, 
spoken or written. Your own lot, as teachers, may 
be lightened somewhat by the laugh brought to your 
lips, if you chance to read as a result, as we have, 
that 

The story of the fox and the crane shows that the 
crane had luck to have a big neck. Or, again, 

The story of the fox and the grapes shows that 
when you want something awful bad is the time you 
ain't going to get it. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 117 

Exercise 11 

Grade. — Second school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — The child memorizes the 
maxim given him. He has an excellent exercise in 
sentence structure, because he is building a model 
sentence each time. The ethical teaching is being 
impressed on his mind. 

Preparation and Method. — Into the cover of a 
spool-cotton box the teacher pastes a slip of paper, 
on which one of the familiar maxims has been written, 
carefully and legibly, e.g., — 

Early to bed and early to rise 

Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. 

On a large sheet of oak tag, she writes this maxim 
five or six times, cuts it all up into separate words, 
and places the slips in the box. On his desk the child 
must build up the maxim five or six times. After 
correction, he writes it once on paper. 

Exercise 12 

Grade. — Fourth school year and upwards. 
Aim and Value. — This exercise teaches a child 
how to study a poem, to get at the poet's thought. 



n8 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Answering the questions requires careful sentence 
structure. Writing the whole teaches paragraph 
structure and paraphrasing. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher cuts from 
a printed page two stanzas of Longfellow's " Chil- 
dren's Hour " : — 

I hear, in a chamber above me, 

The patter of little feet, 
The sound of a door that is opened, 

And voices soft and sweet. 

From my study, I see in the lamplight, 
Descending the broad hall stair, 

Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra, 
And Edith with golden hair. 

The clipping is pasted on a large card. Beneath 
it are written, arranged in paragraph form, the fol- 
lowing questions : — 

What is the first thing the poet says ? Where does 
he hear something? What is the first thing he 
hears? Of what does he hear the patter? What 
is the second thing that he hears ? Why did the door 
sound? What third thing does he hear? What 
words tell about the voices? 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 119 

From what place does the poet see something? 
What helps him to see it ? What does he see ? Who 
are the three girls ? What are they doing ? 

What kind of girl was Alice ? What word de- 
scribes Allegra ? Are we told about Edith's appear- 
ance or character? What are we told about her? 

The child is directed to read the stanzas, to read 
the questions through, to study the answers, to write 
the answers, to arrange his answers in paragraphs 
to correspond with the question paragraphs. 

Exercise 13 

Grade. — Third and fourth school year. 

Aim and Value. — To teach correct form for a 
friendly letter. To trouble the child with difficulties 
of spelling and composition at the same time he is 
trying to learn the formal arrangement of a letter is 
too much. Yet the importance of teaching the cor- 
rect arrangement is almost daily indicated by the 
failures in this respect in letters written by teachers 
themselves. 

.... Preparation and Method. — In lessons given pre- 
viously to the use of the exercise, talk to the children 
about letters and letter forms and show them good 
models. Have letters written on the blackboard, 



120 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



teacher and children working together. Distribute 
hektograph copies of a blank letter form, arranged 
like the chart in the illustration. In envelopes are 
cut-up slips containing words, which, put in their 
proper places left blank on the chart, will make the 
letter given as the child's work in the illustration. 




to dUtuvJt.GJ'.y***- 
yvuZ&SA. to &t «/<™- ft* 






CWt. 



cKild's work. 



As a second step, give the child the same envelope 
of cut-up words, but no chart for the form. This 
will test his knowledge of the form. 

As a third step, give him the chart for the form, 
but no envelope of cut-up words, and require him 
to write his own letter on the chart. The final step 
is, of course, the writing of a friendly letter with 
neither chart nor words supplied. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 



121 



Exercise 14 

Aim and Value. — As in the last, except that it 
applies to the use of envelopes. 

Preparation and Method. — Prepare a chart on 
which are many addresses, the proper placing of 



7YU/ SasynAAjJL HS StoUe, St. MxaZL^L Ctrvuvu 
TJIr/LotjL LfrtrvtAt GUrrv iLXLdAjB^A 



TJ7T5T7F 



tlltAr'U&lJts 



HsSUti, St. 






Child's Work. 

the parts transposed as much as possible. Give the 
children many papers cut the size of envelopes. 
(The cutting can be done by the children themselves 
at some previous exercise in measuring and use of 



122 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

scissors.) Each address on the chart is to be written 
correctly on one of the prepared papers. The exer- 
cise, of course, presupposes much careful teaching 
in the use of envelopes. 

Exercise 15 

Grade. — Sixth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — To teach business forms and 
clearness of expression in the language needed for 
them. To prevent later errors due to ignorance of 
some of the practical, taken-for-granted matters of 
life. 

Preparation and Method. — The same exercise may 
be applied to the use of money orders, checks, tele- 
grams, mail orders, bills, receipts, etc. 

Make hektograph copies of a money order. (Bet- 
ter still, obtain a sufficient number of printed blanks 
from a post office.) Tell the children to fill them in. 
At first give them the necessary data on cards, but 
later require them to supply everything themselves. 

Exercise 16 

Grade. — Second school year. 
Aim and Value. — Excellent drill is afforded in 
the correction of errors in the use of irregular verbs. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 123 

Its special value consists in the fact that the child 
uses over and over again the correct form, and never 
hears or sees the incorrect one. Drill in sentence 
structure is also provided by this exercise. 

Preparation and Method. — A conversation lesson 
precedes the exercise, during which questions and 
answers involve the use of the words brought and 
drove. The desired sentences are obtained and writ- 
ten on the blackboard, then read by the children. 
The teacher has prepared, in a manner similar to 
that described in previous exercises, envelopes con- 
taining these sentences, cut up into separate words. 
Scholars build on their desks as many of these sen- 
tences as they can remember. 

Exercise 17 

Grade. — Third school year. 

Aim and Method. — As in Exercise 16, with the 
additional step that in the child's independent work, 
not only drill with the aid of the memory is provided, 
but there must be original sentences constructed in- 
volving the use of the irregular verbs. 

Preparation and Method. — Many copies are 
struck off on the hektograph of a paper arranged as 
follows : — 



124 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

I saw the boy run. 

We saw him hide the ball. 

She saw the book on the desk. 

I saw him do it. 

I saw him on the street. 

I saw the fish in the water. 

I saw him take his paper. 

The man saw a large dog. 

The girl saw the baby fall. 

What did you see on the street? 
What did you see in the park? 
What did you see on my desk? 
What did you see the boy do? 

What did you see at home? 

What did you see the horse do? 

What did you see baby do? 

What did you see mother do? 

The use of the exercise as busy work is preceded 
by a lesson, during which the teacher keeps a rapid 
fire of questions on the sentences above the line, 
somewhat like these: i. Who is talking? (I.) 
Whom are you talking about? (The boy.) What 
did he do? (Run.) How do you know? (I saw.) 
2. Who is talking? (We.) Whom are you talking 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 125 

about? (The boy.) What did he do? (Hide the 
ball.) How do you know? (We saw.) Similar 
questions are to be asked and answered of all the 
other sentences. 

After this development work has been completed, 
the group return to their seats, with instructions to 
write their answers to the questions below the line, 
using the sentences above the line as models. 

Exercise 18 

Grade. — Third school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — As in Exercise 16 and 17. 

Preparation and Method. — A number of hekto- 
graphed copies of the following paper are pre- 
pared : — 

go — goes; come — came; do — did — does — done. 

Baby to meet mother. 

She to see us. 

you do your work ? 

I have all my work. 

He his work well. 

She to see her aunt. 

Will you to see me ? 

Willie yesterday. 



126 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Where did you go? 
When did you come? 
What did you do? , 
When will you come? 
When will he go? 

After a group of children have been provided with 
this paper, a preliminary conversation lesson drives 
the points home. The children then supply the miss- 
ing word in each sentence above the line. Then 
they write answers to each of the questions below 
the line, these questions being phrased so that they 
require the correct use of the frequently misused 
parts of the verbs noted at the top of the paper. 
These verbs are placed at the top to aid the child 
in giving the correct form. 

Exercise 19 

Grade. — Third school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — This exercise has the same 
aims, being really just a slightly more difficult form 
of the same kind of drill. 

Preparation and Method. — The sentences above 
the line in the card given below, in connection with 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 127 

the word " To-day," form the subject-matter for a 
lesson given the group by the teacher. 

TO-DAY 

I come to school. 
I look at the board. 
I read my lessons. 
I study my lesson. 
I learn my lesson. 
I write my lesson. 

YESTERDAY 

The child is then asked how he would say each of 
these sentences if the thing told happened " Yester- 
day." At the end of the lesson he is given the card 
and an envelope in which are the cut-up sentences 
giving the form to use for " Yesterday." On his 
desk he builds the sentences, and after correction by 
the teacher, copies them on the card, in a space left 
for the purpose, below the word " Yesterday." 

Exercise 20 

Grade. — Fourth school year. 
Aim and Value. — "In teaching pupils to construct 
typical forms of statements, the teacher should have 



128 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



in mind such a classification as will insure the ex- 
pression of all the more important forms of thought, 
e.g., sentences that state (i) what things do, (2) what 
is done to things, (3) what the qualities of things are, 
(4) what things are." 1 This exercise provides drill 
in the first form, but a similar exercise can be planned 
to provide drill in each of the four forms. 

Preparation and Method. — Hektographed sheets 
are prepared and then cut up and arranged in sets 
in envelopes. Each set will contain a card, read- 



ing: 



WHAT THINGS CAN DO 



horse 
dog 

squirrel 

baby 

lion 



6. 


cat 


7- 


rivers 


8. 


wind 


9- 


bees 


10. 


children 



Besides the card, each set contains sentences, cut 
up into separate words, telling what these things can 
do. The child builds the sentences on his desk, 
thus : — 

1 Taken from Course of Study in English, Grade 4 A, New York 

City. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 129 

The horse runs. 
The horse gallops. 
The horse trots. 
The horse neighs. 

Exercise 21 

Grade. — Fourth school year. 

Aim and Value. — It teaches meaning and use of 
certain words. It teaches who does things. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher cuts from 
the printed book, or makes hektographed copies of, 
the following card : — 

A cures diseases. 

A tends sheep. 

A builds houses. 

A makes boots and shoes. 

A makes men's clothing. 

A — — makes barrels. 

A cultivates land. 

A plans houses. 

A makes beautiful pictures. 

A writes books. 

The missing names : doctor, shepherd, shoemaker, 
tailor, cooper, architect, etc., are written in the sen- 



130 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

tences prepared on separate hektographed sheets. 
These sentences are cut up and the slips are placed 
in envelopes. On his desk the boy must build each 
sentence, inserting the necessary name. 

Exercise 22 

Grade. — Any school year. 

Aim and Value. — An excellent drill in spelling 
is provided by this exercise. Being somewhat in 
the nature of a game, the children's interest in it is 
very keen. 

Preparation and Method. — The children are pro- 
vided either with a box of letters, such as can be 
bought in any game department in the stores, or with 
an envelope containing slips cut from hektographed 
sheets in which the alphabet has been written many 
times. They are then told to build up on their desks 
as many words as they can, using only letters found 
in a given word. Some good words for the purpose 
are carpet, composition, everybody, operations, sepa- 
ration; others will suggest themselves. 

An added element of interest can be given by ex- 
citing competition among the members of the group 
at work. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 131 

Exercise 23 

Grade. — Second school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — A drill in spelling is the aim 
here. The value of the exercise lies in the fact that 
he must say to himself every letter in every word, and 
at the same time he sees each one and also the whole 
word. Also he receives the benefit that comes from 
repetition, but does no writing, and escapes the per- 
nicious effect upon his penmanship of writing a 
word many times in order to learn it. 

Preparation and Method. — Somewhere in the 
room the teacher keeps hung up a list of the spelling 
words for the week, as well as other charts of words 
previously taught. The child is provided with a box 
of letters or an envelope of letters made as described 
in Exercise 22. On his desk he builds the words of 
his spelling lesson, looking at the chart to get the 
correct spelling. Some words he will construct 
several times, others only once. 

Exercise 24 

Grade. — Second school year and upwards. 
Aim and Value. — Drill in spelling and in recog- 
nition of the new words of a reading lesson. 



132 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Preparation and Method. — Make hektographed 
copies of sentences from the day's reading lesson, 
omitting the words you desire to have the child notice 
particularly. Let the children use their readers to 
find the sentences, discover the omitted word, and 
then write it in its place on the hektographed sheet. 

Exercise 25 

Aim and Value. — In the early grades, this exer- 
cise can be used as a phonic drill. In later grades, 
it can be used as a drill in suffixes. 

Preparation and Method. — The words are written 
on a large sheet of oak tag, the suffix being detached 
from the rest of the word so that the separation can 
be made easily when the teacher is ready to cut up 
the paper into separate slips. The slips are placed 
in envelopes. 

The child selects the slips needed and combines so 
as to form words, arranging them on his desk, thus : — 
beauti ful use less hard ness 

use ful piti less soft ness 

grace ful merci less quick ness 

This exercise, too, can be extended indefinitely 
and made to cover all the suffixes and prefixes. 
Too many should never be placed in one envelope. 



CHAPTER XI 

PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 

Arithmetic 

Note. — Very little attempt has been made to 
grade these exercises in arithmetic. Each is a type, 
possibly described in its application to the work 
in one grade, but equally adaptable to the work of 
another. 

Exercise i 

Grade. — Second year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — Excellent drill is provided in 
telling time. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher writes the 
first paper, strikes off desired number of copies on 
oak tag cards, cuts up into separate slips, and places 
in sets in envelopes. Each set will contain several 
clock faces, without hands, and a number of slips 
on which are written : — 

i. Show how the clock looked when you went to 
bed. 

2. Show how the clock looked when you came to 
school. 

133 




134 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

3. Show how the clock looked when the bell rang. 

4. Show how the clock looked when you went to 
assembly. 

5. I started to school at 20 
minutes of 8; show how the 
clock looked. 

6. The train started at 15 
minutes after 8; show how the 
clock looked. 

The child places a question slip on his desk ; beside 
it, a clock face, on which he has drawn hands placed 
so as to indicate the time needed to answer the ques- 
tion. 

Exercise 2 

Grade. — Second year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — Drill in addition, subtraction, 
or multiplication, and in accuracy. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher prepares 
large sheets of oak tag, hektographed copies, and cuts 
up into cards. On the cards are written numbers; 
for example : — 

Card 1 Card 2 Card 3 Card 4 

4 5 12 14 

4 5 5 6 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 135 



Card 5 


Card 6 


Card 7 


Card 8 


5 


13 


8 


14 


3 


4 


5 


4 



The teacher tells the boy what the operation is to be. 

Only one operation should be used ; that is, the work 

should be addition with all the cards, and not addition 

with some and subtraction with others. On a sheet 

of paper the boy copies all the cards and writes the 

answers. 

Exercise 3 

Grade. — Second year and upward. 

Aim and Value. — This is an exercise which can 
be used to drill addition, subtraction, multiplication, 
or division. 

Preparation and Method. — With the aid of the 
hektograph, the teacher prepares a number of cards 
on which are written sets of questions ; for example : 

Card 1 
4X4 = * 

4X5=* 
6X4 = * 
3X8=* The product only omitted, 

7X3=* 

5X3=* 
5X4 = * 



136 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Card 2 
4 X * = 24 

6X3=* The product, multiplier, or mul- 

* X 4 = 20 tiplicand omitted. 

*X5 = i5 
8 X * = 32 

The child copies the numbers from the card and 
inserts, in each example, the missing quantity. He 
is not allowed to write on the card, for that would 
destroy any possibility of its further use. The dot 
is used to indicate the missing quantity, because 
experience shows that the question mark either 
suggests a number or is mistaken for one. 

Exercise 4 

Grade. — Third year and upwards. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher makes 
hektographed copies of large cards, like the follow- 
ing:— 

Card 1 

6X8= 4X9= 36-4= 4 X * = 36 
6X7= 9X5= 32 -*- -8 = 6 X * = 3° 
4X9= 8X4= 48-6= * X 8 = 48 




PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 



9X5 = 
6 X 6 = 

6X4 = 
5X6 = 

SX3 = 
3X9 = 
7X6 = 
6 X 10 = 

\ of 20 = 
\ of 18 = 
J of 24 = 
1 of 36 = 
j of 30 = 
iof 3 6 = 

I Of 21 = 

1 of 42 = 
J of 48 = 



7X5 

6 X9 

7 X 8 
8X6 

3X9 
4X8 

7X5 
6X6 



45 + 5 

30 -5" 6 
42 -f- 6 

44 -=- 4 

56-8 

54 -s- 6 

27-9 

36-9 

4 
4 

8 
6 

5 
6 

3 

5 

6 



*X5 

6 X* 

7 X* 
*Xg 

8 X* 

7 X4 

9 X* 

8 X* 



40 


3 


36 


6 


24 


3 


39 


4 


3 2 


2 


40 


4 


36 


6 


48 


4 


30 


7 


42 


6 


54 


5 


5o 


4 


33 


4 


36 


3 


25 


3 


27 


8 


36 


9 


36 


5 


48 


9 


54 


6 



137 

= 40 

= 42 

= 35 
= 36 

= 32 
= ? 

= 54 
= 48 

36 
16 

48 
42 
42 
28 
21 
32 

45 
42 



Card 2 

4X4= 7X4= 10X4= 9 X * = 36 

4X5= 5X4= 11X4= 8X* = 32 

6X4= 8X4= 2X4= 7 X * = 28 

3X4= 9X4= 0X4= 6 X * = 24 



i3§ 


TEACHING 


CHILDREN 


TO STUDY 




Add:— 












147 


28 




106 


322 


3 22 


125 


1 64 




127 


145 


64 


62 


38 




33 


66 


125 


107 


152 




142 


147 


43 


53 


63 




69 


i7 


128 
64 


682 




540 


743 


809 


601 


-239 


— 


287 


-268 


-571 


-284 



1 apple cost 4 c. What will 6 apples cost ? 
1 pencil cost 5 c. What will 4 cost? 
1 bottle of milk cost 8 c. What will 4 cost? 
1 loaf of bread cost 10 c. What will 3 cost? 
1 bag of tea cost 20 c. What will 4 cost ? 

She gives one of these cards to a child and tells 
him to do as many as he can in a stated time, which 
time should be much too short for him to be able to 
finish all; or she tells him, "Do the examples in the 
first column, or the top line, to-day, and to-morrow 
you may do the rest." Left alone, almost every child 
will try to do to-morrow's work, especially if the 
teacher has managed rightly, and he is thereby led 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 139 

to seek speed. Careful oversight by the teacher will 
compel him to be accurate as well. 

Exercise 5 

Grade. — Third year. 

Preparation and Method. — Cards like the follow- 
ing are struck off on the hektograph and used in 
the same manner as described in the last exercise. 
This exercise is intended for use among children who 
can read, but for whom the language in most arith- 
metics is too difficult : — 



224 


36 


89 


57 


75 90 


X4 


X4 


X4 


x 3 


X4 X4 


605 


921 


821 


752 


900 


— 164 


-455 


-643 


-487 


-320 


1. Jo] 


in paid 


12 c. for a 


bag of cakes. What will 



4 bags cost him? 

2. Mary spelled 20 words in 1 day. How many 
will she spell in 4 days ? 

3. Mother had 28 c. in her hand, and 4 times as 
much in her pocketbook. How much did she have 
in her pocketbook ? 



140 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

4. In one glass I have 16 flowers. In another I 
have 4 times as many. How many in the second 
glass ? 

5. Paid 19 c. for 1 yard of ribbon. How much 
will 4 yards cost? 

6. One boy has 18 marbles. Willie has 3 times 
as many. How many marbles has Willie ? 



Exercise 6 

Grade. — Third year. 

Aim and Value. — In our effort that the child 
shall understand each step he takes, each point he 
learns, we often neglect the old-fashioned drill in 
tables, which is, after all, the only way to make him 
remember what he understands. This exercise pro- 
vides just such a drill, with two great values in its 
method : there is no writing required, and the child 
must say each line of the table in order to obtain 
the right arrangement. 

Preparation and Method. — Prepared first on 
large hektographed sheets and then cut up into slips, 
in the manner already frequently described, cards 
like the following are placed in envelopes : — 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 141 



1 X4 


2 


X4 


3 


X4 


4X4 


5 


X4 


6X4 


7X4 


8X4 


9 


X4 


10 X 4 


11 


X4 


12 


X4 


4^4 


8 


* 4 


12 


-*- 4 


16 -f- 4 


20 


-*- 4 


24 


■*- 4 


28 -f- 4 


32 


-*- 4 


36 


■*- 4 


40-^-4 


44 


^ 4 


48 


-*- 4 


= 4 




= 8 




— 12 


= 16 




= 20 




= 24 


= 28 




= 3 2 




= 36 


= 40 




= 44 




= 48 


= 1 




= 2 




= 3 


= 4 




= 5 




= 6 


= 7 




= 8 




= 9 


= 10 




= 11 




= 12 



These 48 slips become well shuffled in the envelope 

and the child must do careful work to build up his 

tables of 4's in multiplication and in division on his 

desk. 

Exercise 7 

Grade. — Third year. 

Aim and Value. — As in Exercise 6, with the addi- 
tional step of fractional parts included. 



142 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher prepares 
the same 48 slips and also 24 more to give the drill 
in the fractional parts, as: — 

i of 16 i of 8 

J of 20 =4 

= 2 =5 

Exercise 8 

Preparation and Method. — As in Exercises 6 and 
7, with one step in advance in difficulty, consisting 
in the separation of each line of the table into three 
parts, instead of two. Thus : — 

4 X 4 = 16, the finished line, would be cut up into 

4 
X 4 
= 16 

The envelope would, therefore, contain 108 slips, 
36 each, for the multiplication, the division, and the 
fractional parts. 

Exercise 9 

Grade. — Third year and upwards. 
Preparation and Method. — Large charts, with 
numbers so large that they can be seen from all parts 






PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 



143 



of the room, are hung up. They are arranged as 
follows : — 



X 4 



X5 



16 

24 
20 

8 

3 2 
40 

36 



Envelopes are prepared so that they contain all 
the numbers necessary. The slips are cut up in a 
manner similar to that described in Exercise 8. 

6 

X4 

= 24 

The boy builds up on his desk the answers to the 

questions indicated by the chart, thus: — 

6 X 4 =24 

4 X 4 =16 
3 X 4 =12 
2 X4 =8 

5 X 4 =20 



144 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



X 4 




•= 32 


X4 




= 36 


X4 




= 4 


Exercis 


e 10 





Grade. — Third year and upwards. 

Preparation and Method. — The same as in the 





3^7 

last exercise, except that each chart is, for the sake 
of attracting attention, arranged differently. 

The words divide or multiply are written at the 
top of the chart. 

Exercise 11 

Grade. — Third year and upwards. 

Preparation and Method. — On large cards, the 
teacher makes hektographed copies of the follow- 
ing:— 



10 


6 


5 


4 


8 


3 


2 


7 


9 


11 


12 



x6 



X5 



X 4 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 



145 



Each child receives one of these cards and an en- 
velope containing cut-up slips, with which he may, 
as in Exercise 9, build up the answers to the ques- 
tions indicated. 

Exercise 12 

Grade. — Third year and upwards. 
Preparation and Method. — The child receives 
a card arranged as follows : — 

In 2 rows there are 6 + 6 or □ s. 

3 rows contain D s. 

3X6 = 



l of 18 



6, 6, 6, and 6 are 

4X6 = . 

24 □ s = rows. 

J- of 24 is . 

6's in 30 = . 

J of 30 = . 



30 



1 

2 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 


3 

12 


3 

18 


4 



24 


5 
3° 


6 

12 
18 
24 
30 
36 
42 
48 

54 
60 



How many 6's in 36 ? ^ of 36 = 
3 o = 6X . -X = 48. 

42^-7= • 



* of 48 = - 

= ^X6. 

10X6 = 



9X6 = 48 + 6 or 

is i of 54. 



54 



^ of 60 = 



The arrangement of squares and numbers was 



146 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

suggested by some work described in Southworth's 
" Essentials of Arithmetic." 

The children are required to write their answer 
to each question in the space left for that purpose. 

Exercise 13 

Grade. — Third year and upwards. 

Preparation and Method. — To the children are 
given cards on which are lists of pages and the num- 
bers of examples. They are told to find the given 
examples in the arithmetic text-book provided and 
work them on paper. 

Later, they are told the kind of work, and then 
are directed to find all the examples illustrating 
that point and work them. Excellent drill in the 
use of the text-book and an opportunity to make 
sure that they understand what has been taught 
are thus afforded. To illustrate: The lesson has 
been on the multiplication of decimals by a decimal ; 
the boy is told to find the place in his text-book 
where that point is illustrated and to work the 
examples given. 



CHAPTER XII 

PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 

History 

Exercise i 

Grade. — Fifth school year. 

Aim and Value. — The course of study calls for 
the memorizing of certain dates in each grade from 
5 A up. A frequent use of this exercise as busy 
work will accomplish this without much painful 
effort for either teacher or child. 

Preparation and Method. — On a large sheet of 
oak tag, the teacher writes in sentence form all the 
dates and the events connected with them. These 
sentences are then cut up, so that the events are on 
slips separate from the dates ; to illustrate : — 

On one slip, 
Columbus discovered America; 

On another slip, 
October 12, 1492. 

The child must match event and date and place 



148 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

in complete sentence form on his desk. In one en- 
velope can be placed all the dates required for one 
grade. For a child in 5 A you will have the follow- 
ing set of slips in one envelope : — 
Columbus discovered America. 
John Cabot discovered the continent of North 
America. 

Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. 
Magellan entered and named the Pacific Ocean. 
Magellan ended his first voyage around the world. 
Cartier discovered the St. Lawrence River. 
Hudson discovered the Hudson River. 
October 12, 1492 In 1523 

In 1497 In *534 

In 1513 In 1609 

In 1520 

Exercise 2 

Grade. — Fifth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — As in Exercise 1, with the added 
value of the training a child receives in the use of a 
text-book. It need not be restricted to the required 
dates. 

Preparation and Method. — The child receives 
a card containing a list of dates, e.g., — 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 149 

December 21, 1620. 

July 4, 1776. 

April 30, 1789. 

Using his history text-book, he searches out what 
happened on these dates and writes it in sentence 
form for each. 

Exercise 3 

Grade. — Fifth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — The historical facts. The child 
uses the text-book as a book of reference. 

Preparation and Method. — The teacher prepares 
a card, on which are written topics or other words 
suggestive of the facts in the life of some historical 
character; for example: — 

HENRY HUDSON 

Who ? Vessel. 

Relations with the Dutch. Landing. 

When? The Indians. 

Voyage. Trading, etc. 

Using their text-books to find the facts, the children 
study. If they cannot be trusted to do real study, 
then they can be required to write each fact in sen- 
tence form on paper. 



150 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Exercise 4 

Grade. — Fourth school year and upwards. 
Aim and Value. — The historical facts are learned 
in connection with their geographical setting, mak- 
ing a natural and un- 
forced correlation. The 
child learns to use two 
text-books at once for 
reference. 

Preparation and 
Method. — Teacher pre- 
pares outline maps of 
North America, hekto- 
graphed on oak tag cards. 
On other cards, or on 
the backs of the maps, 
are written lists of dis- 
coverers and explorers. Children must find, in the 
histories, the places and dates associated with each 
name. In their geographies they must find the lo- 
cation of each place named. Of course, they will 
remember many from the lesson the group receives 
from the teacher before the busy work is assigned ; 
but the use of the books serves a threefold purpose : 




PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 151 

it prevents unlawful copying, teaches them how to 
use the book, and impresses the facts upon them 
through still another agency. As each place is found 
in the geographies, its location is noted on the oak 
tag maps and the historical fact written next it. 



Exercise 5 

Grade. — Fourth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — As in preceding exercises. 
The children's love of pictures adds to the interest, 
and therefore still further aids in their memorizing 
the facts. 

Preparation and Method. — By cutting up old 
histories, magazines, circulars from publishing houses, 
etc., the teacher procures a number of pictures to 
illustrate historical events. Each of these she pastes 
on a separate card. If a printed sentence occurs 
beneath the picture, so much the better. The 
children receive these cards one or two at a time, 
depending upon the length of the period, and search 
in their histories for all the facts associated with 
each picture. When found, these facts are arranged 
in tabular form or embodied in a composition, ac- 
cording to the grade and ability of the child. Some 



152 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

of the pictures which have most successfully used 
in P. S. 1 20 include: — 

1. The Mrs. Ross House, with name printed 
below, and the words, Flag Day, above. 

2. The First Thanksgiving Day, with no name 
given, but the following sentences printed below: 
"One day they said: God has been good to us. 
Let us set one day apart and have a big Thanks- 
giving feast." 

3. Bunker Hill Monument, with just the name 
given. 

4. A moccasin, a tomahawk, and arrows, pasted 
on one card. 

Exercise 6 

Grade. — Fourth school year. 

Aim and Value. — As in preceding exercises. In 
addition to the historical facts, tbe child is learning 
local geography. 

Preparation and Method. — Pictures of monu- 
ments and statues to be found in New York, pro- 
cured in manner described in Exercise 5, are pasted 
on cards and placed in envelopes. The child must 
discover for each, one historical fact which will 
indicate the reason for the erection of the monument 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 153 

or statue. The facts are memorized or written, as 
time and the occasion demand. 



Exercise 7 

Grade. — Fifth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — As in preceding exercises. 
It aids in teaching paragraphing. 

Preparation and Method. — Procuring them as 
previously suggested, the teacher pastes on separate 
cards sets of pictures suggesting events in the life 
of a president, a general, or some other great man in 
American history. We have one set for General 
Grant, consisting of a picture of his birthplace, one 
called "General Grant hammering away at Vicks- 
burg, " one of Grant and Lee at Appomattox, and 
one of his tomb in Riverside Park. These are kept 
in an envelope labeled " Grant." The child arranges 
the four pictures in chronological order ; the absurd 
mistakes some children make in doing this show the 
value of the exercise. When the teacher has cor- 
rected his arrangement, he writes the story of those 
portions of Grant's life suggested by the four pictures, 
and discovers that since he has four topics, therefore 
he must have four paragraphs. 



154 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Exercise 8 

Grade. — Fifth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — As in preceding exercises. 

Preparation and Method. — In envelopes, labeled 
"Inventors," " Discoverers," " Generals," etc., the 
teacher keeps a number of slips, each bearing the 
name of an inventor, a discoverer, a general. The 
child is given, say, the envelope labeled " Inventors." 
He takes out each slip and discovers, either from 
his text-book or from memory of lessons given by 
his teacher, the invention made and the date. He 
then arranges his slips in chronological order and 
places beside each a slip on which he has written 
the required facts; or he may write both names 
and facts on a paper provided him, only, in the latter 
case, the sentence form of statement should be in- 
sisted on. At the end of the exercise, his desk would 
look somewhat as follows: — 

Eli Whitney: i793> the cotton gin. 

Robert Fulton: 1807, the steamboat. 

McCormick: 1831, the reaper. 

S. F. B. Morse: 1837, the telegraph. 

J. W. Draper: 1840, the daguerreotype, to 

photograph persons. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 



155 



Elias Howe: 1846, the sewing machine. 

Dr. Morton: 1846, ether as an anaesthetic. 

John Ericsson: the screw propeller. 

John Ericsson : the turret ship, Monitor. 

1873, the typewriter. 
Alex. Graham Bell: 1877, the electric telephone. 



CHAPTER XIII 

PLANS AND TYPES OF BUSY WORK 

Geography 



Exercise 



i 



Grade. — Fourth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — The manual training involved 
in the pasting. The use of the text book. Interest 
and association of ideas as aids in memorizing facts. 

Preparation and Method. — Provide the child with 
a large sheet of oak tag and pictures of the flags of 
several different countries. Tell him to divide his 
oak tag sheet into as many spaces as he has flags, 
and to paste a flag at the top of each space. He is 
then to open his geography and find the country 
to which each flag belongs, or the teacher supplies 
this information. On the sheet of oak tag he is to 
write the capital of each country under its flag; 
beneath that, the name of one thing exported or im- 
ported; on a third line, some one noteworthy fact 
discovered about the country or its capital. 

Place together the flags of countries which are 

156 



PLANS AND TYPES OF BUSY WORK 157 

not geographically near one another, thus forcing the 
child to turn pages. The value in this is obvious; 
it makes him familiar with the book, tempts him to 
read, and teaches him to gain knowledge from a 
printed page for himself. The flags will hold the 
interest ; for boys, in particular, love flags and always 
want to know their significance. 

Exercise 2 

Grade. — Fourth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — Drill in use of a map. Famil- 
iarity with the names and location of the places found. 
Memory is aided by the tracing over of each river, 
etc., on his hektographed map. Knowledge of these 
very necessary facts is obtained in a natural way 
by himself, not by rote work. 

Preparation and Method. — Make hektograph 
copies of a map, of North America, for example, of 
the same size and general appearance as the physical 
map of North America, to be found in the child's 
text-book. Let the child trace over on his map the 
rivers, mountains, lakes, surrounding waters; learn 
their names by reference to his text-book; and 
finally write the name of each in its proper place. 



i58 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



Exercise 3 

Grade. — Fifth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — As in Exercise 2, with the addi- 
tion of one step more of difficulty. 

Preparation and Method. — A map similar to the 
one used in Exercise 2 is given to the child, differing 
in that only the outline is drawn. Instead of merely 
tracing the course of a river, etc., he must draw it in 
its proper place and then insert the name. 

Exercise 4 




Grade. — Fourth school year and upwards. 
This exercise really makes use of the idea of the 
dissected map puzzles. 






PLANS AND TYPES OF BUSY WORK 159 

Aim and Value. — Familiarity with names and 
location of places. Knowledge of the relation one 
place bears to another in size, direction, distance. 
Some other values, as in Exercise 2. Particularly- 
valuable in teaching states of the United States, 
boroughs of New York City, countries of Europe. 

Preparation and Method. — Tear a map from an 
old geography and paste it on heavy cardboard. 
Cut up into irregular portions and shuffle well. 
Then let the child build up the map on his desk. 
The lines for cutting should be carefully selected; 
usually they should be boundary lines. 

Exercise 5 

Grade. — Fifth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — In this, as in all the succeeding 
exercises in geography, the value depends upon the 
teaching which precedes the use of the exercises. 
If used without previous careful teaching, the ex- 
ercises are unpedagogical in the extreme, and are 
a return to the old days of rote work and memorized 
answers to map questions. If used as busy work 
supplementary to teaching, according to proper 
methods, they form an invaluable means of drill, 
of reenforcing and fixing facts, already presented, 



160 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

by the child's own activities in the use of the text- 
book. The familiarity with maps gained by these 
exercises is not the least of their values. 

Preparation and Method. — Prepare hektograph 
copies of the following: — 

A TRIP TO AFRICA 

Having entered the Sea from the Atlantic 

Ocean, through the Strait of , we stopped for 

a short time at , the capital of Algiers. 

Monday, we started on a trip up the River. 

The first day we passed the city of , near which 

are the , built many thousands of years ago. 

Continuing our journey, we came at last to the 

lakes , , and , the sources of this great 

river. 

Using their text-books, the children must decide 
on the missing names, which they then insert, and 
complete the story of the trip. Sometimes this 
same exercise can be required without text-books, 
thus forming an excellent review. 

Exercise 6 

Grade. — Fourth school year and upwards. 
Aim and Value. — Stated in Exercise 5. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF BUSY WORK 



161 



Preparation and Method. — On oak tag make 
hektographed copies of the map of the hemispheres, 
marking the boundaries of the continents and zones. 




With the aid of his text-book the child must find the 
location and name of each, and write each name in 
its proper place. He may, if the teacher so chooses, 
color in and with blue crayon mark the oceans. 

Exercise 7 

Grade. — Fifth school year and upwards. 

Aim and Value. — In addition to values stated 
previously, the child learns how industries develop 
as a result of natural resources, that a relation ex- 
ists between industries and population and between 
natural resources and population. 

Preparation and Method. — From old geographies 



1 62 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

or geographical readers, time-tables and booklets 
issued by railroads, advertising pages of magazines, 
collect pictures to illustrate the development and 
influence of some one product. One set we have 
collected relates to iron, and includes, among others : 
i. an iron mine, 2. a town of miners, 3. an iron 
furnace, 4. casting pig iron, 5. a large manufactur- 
ing plant where agricultural implements are made. 
Make these pictures the subject of oral and written 
language work. Give him final] y the whole set and 
tell him to paste them on oak tag in order of the 
history of iron. Require him to find all places 
mentioned on the map in his text-book, to read what 
his text-book says of each. 

Exercise 8 

Exercises 8, 9, 10, 11 are exercises of progressive 
difficulty, worked out with reference to the United 
States, but of equal value in teaching Europe or 
South America. 

Aim and Value. — As stated in Exercise 5. The 
definite purpose of the exercise is to teach the names, 
location, varying size of the states of the Union, 
and their relation, one to the other, in direction and 
distance. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF BUSY WORK 



163 



Preparation and Method. — Provide the children 
with hektographed copies of the map of the United 




States. Let the outline of each state be clearly 
marked, but no natural features. The child is to 
color in the states, those of one group at a time. 

Exercise 9 

Aim and Value. — As previously stated. 

Preparation and Method. — Maps of exactly the 
same style as those described in Exercise 8 are pro- 
vided. The child is to draw in, consulting his 
text-book, the rivers, mountains, lakes. His at- 
tention is called to the influence of these natural 
features upon the boundaries of states and the separa- 



164 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 




tion of groups. He is led to use the natural features 

as an aid in remembering the location of certain. 

states. 

Exercise 10 




PLANS AND TYPES OF BUSY WORK 



165 



Aim and Value. — As previously stated. 

Preparation and Method. — A map of the United 
States in outline is provided with neither natural 
features nor state boundaries marked. In succes- 
sive lessons the child is to put in the state outlines, 
one group of states at a time, and when these are all 
finished, the natural features. 

Exercise 11 

Preparation and Method. — A map of the United 
States in outline only is provided. The child draws 




in the state outlines, one group at a time, and then 
writes across the group the vegetable and mineral 
products of each section as completed. 



CHAPTER XIV 

PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 

Manual Training 

Because manual exercises are sure to keep a seat- 
work group quiet, and because they are apparently 
easy to plan and prepare, they have long been re- 
garded as the most obvious means of providing a 
class with busy work; but it is a mistaken point of 
view, and has been responsible for much waste of time 
and for the use of exercises which have no educational 
value. This misuse of manual training, more than 
any other mistake made in connection with the use 
of the Group System, has caused deserved contempt 
to fall upon such busy work. 

It must be remembered that it is claimed that the 
Group System teaches the child habits of self-re- 
liant study. No means within the teacher's power 
is so certain to accomplish this aim as the seat work. 
Manual training exercises are an exceedingly valu- 
able aid, but they must be carefully planned and 
carefully supervised. They must have as definite 
an aim and as definite a relation to the course of 
study and to the complete training of the child as 

166 






PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 167 

the exercises in arithmetic or language. The teacher 
must always precede the doing of each exercise with 
sufficient instruction, so that the child can be fairly 
expected to continue his work to completion without 
instruction and with only just enough supervision 
to make sure that he obeys directions. 

A great saving of time accompanies the doing of 
the manual exercises as seat work. When, as under 
the system of class instruction, the child does every 
piece and part of his basket or of his sewing or other 
manual work under the teacher's supervision, much 
time is needed, fewer exercises can be done, and the 
child loses the necessary practice which alone can 
give him dexterity. Furthermore, the teacher's in- 
terest in the work is not secured, because she is 
tempted to slight and neglect it in order to gain time 
for the regular branches, which she regards as more 
essential, and in which her pupils are likely to be 
examined and marked. All of this is obviated if 
the manual exercises are taught in class and then 
completed as seat work. 

In the chapter on the study period, suggestions were 
given as to the keeping of material and tools for 
manual work so that the child can get at them readily 
and continue his work whenever he has a leisure 



1 68 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

moment, as well as in the seat-work period when he 
has definite instruction for so doing. When used in 
this way, the withdrawal of the privilege of working 
upon some much-liked manual exercise is a severely 
felt punishment for neglect of some other lesson. A 
very large variety of exercises and styles of work is 
permissible. Many of these exercises can be used 
in correlation with or in illustration of other lessons, 
and yet at the same time can be made to provide 
all the art and manual training expected from this 
branch of work by makers of courses of study. 

Experiment in the use of manual work in the man- 
ner here suggested has been made in all the schools 
where the Group System is used successfully. In 
this chapter will be illustrated only the results of such 
experiment. The teacher's own ingenuity can be 
relied upon for extension of these plans and their 
further application. Manual exercises of great in- 
terest and definite educational value may be found 
well worked out in two books on seat -work occupa- 
tions, one by Miss Arnold and one by Miss Gilman, 
and teachers are referred to these books for detailed 
suggestions and instructions on the use of manual 
exercises as seat work. The requirements in manual 
work of the prescribed course of study should be 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 169 

sufficient suggestion as to types of exercises, and little 
help further can be given. It is possible that a few 
detailed explanations of how some exercises have 
been done may prove of service to the class-room 
teacher, especially as showing how manual work as 
seat work and other lessons may be combined. 

Exercise 1 

Grade. — Second, third, and fourth school years. 

Aim and Value. — To teach measurements and 
comparisons and to give practice in the use of the 
ruler and in ruling to measurement. 

Preparation and Method. — Cut from cardboard 
rectangles of different sizes. Place a dozen or more 
of these in an envelope. As seat work the child is 
to measure and compare the rectangles. The first 
exercise will be to measure the perimeter of each. 
As a second exercise, let him find the center of each, 
at first by drawing lines, and later by measurement. 
A third exercise is to find the area of each of these 
rectangles. 

Exercise 2 

Grade. — Second, third, and fourth school years. 
Aim and Value. — As in the preceding exercise, 
with the added value of cutting to a given line. 



170 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Preparation and Method. — Give the child rulers 
and cardboard or very stiff paper. Let the children 
cut rectangles whose lengths are different. Draw- 
ing of the rectangles in the lower grades should be 
done by the teacher ; in the upper grades, by the chil- 
dren themselves. As a later extension of this same 
exercise, let the children take the exact measure- 
ments of the rectangle and make a comparison of 
sizes. Let them put all of the same size in piles 

together. 

Exercise 3 

Grade. — Third and fourth school years. 

Aim and Value. — To teach measurement and 
comparison. To give practice in the use of colored 
crayons. To correlate with the teaching of frac- 
tions. 

Preparation and Method. — A lesson on the frac- 
tions, J?, J, J, must precede, and the relative value of 
these fractions must be thoroughly taught. As seat 
work the teacher requires the child to illustrate the 
comparative value of these fractions by drawing rec- 
tangles one below the other. The first rectangle 
is not divided. The second is divided by a line into 
halves ; the third into fourths : the fourth rectangle 
into eighths. The original rectangle, which repre- 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 171 

sents the whole or one, should be varied in size on 
the different cards. The teacher's preparation of this 
exercise consists in the drawing of the original rec- 
tangles on different cards or papers, the idea being 
that the child fills out the drawings to show the halves, 
quarters, and eighths below. 

Exercise 4 

Grade. — First and second school years. 

Aim and Value. — To correlate with the teaching 
of counting in arithmetic and to give manual exercise 
in the stringing of beads, berries, or any other material 
that the teacher may have at hand. 

Preparation and Method. — In the arithmetic 
period the children have been taught to count from 
one to twenty, by i's, by 2's, or by 3's. For the 
seat-work period the teacher gives them a number 
of strings and a large number of beads of different 
colors. She tells them to place twenty beads of one 
color on each string. In a later seat-work period 
she tells them to string them by 2's, and in a still 
later, by 3's. This exercise can also be performed 
with the use of peg boards and pegs of different colors. 



172 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

Exercise 5 

Grade. — First year and following. 

Aim and Value. — To teach the use of the needle. 
To train in muscular control. To begin the 
teaching of design. To give training in accuracy. 
There is a disciplinary value also in the perseverance 
and industry required in order to complete the entire 
article with equal excellence in all its parts. 

Preparation and Method. — Java canvas, worsted, 
and a coarse needle are the materials needed. The 
Java canvas gives a wide field for seat work. Many 
stitches and designs can be made, and the completed 
work may take the form of a great many articles of 
known value and interest to the child. Among the 
articles which may be made are : needlecase, napkin 
case, necktie case, pencil case, table cover, book 
cover, pillow cover, penwiper, and corners for a 
blotting pad. The child begins his work in a lesson 
given by the teacher to the class. He then learns 
the stitch to be used, and has his pattern marked 
out for him or given to him. He finishes his work 
without further instruction, and with just enough 
supervision to insure care and accuracy. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 173 

Exercise 6 

Grade. — Second school year and following. 

Aim and Value. — To teach design and the use 
of colored chalk, or crayon, or the brush with either 
ink or water colors. Any of these media may be 
used. Incidentally, the training in neatness the 
child receives when left to care for his own mate- 
rials is not the least value of this exercise. 

Preparation and Method. — A chart containing 
many different forms of "spots" is hung in sight. 

0Xll*vA***x:y YtiT Y? ?i 
To «ot* <]/> 



o 

01 




On his own paper the child practices making " spots." 
Later, he uses one or two of these forrhs to make a 
simple design. 

Exercise 7 

Grade. — Third school year and following. 
Aim and Value. — To drill in measurement, in 
use of scissors, in exactness in following directions. 



174 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



To exercise hands and fingers, providing training 
in muscular control. To prepare for the use of 
working drawings. 

Preparation and Method. — On a chart within easy 
reach of the child's touch the teacher pastes a box, 
made from paper or oak tag, and a drawing such 
as must be used to produce a similar box. Below 
the drawing the teacher writes the necessary direc- 
tions. See illustration. The child is provided with 
pencil, ruler, heavy paper or oak tag, scissors, 
and paste. He is allowed to handle the box on the 
chart and to study the drawing, after which he copies 
the drawing on his own paper, cuts according to 
directions, and makes his own box. 



o o 



-— — 

■» • m • 




; i 

• 

i 

» 

4 






t 

I 




Cut on dotted \me$ 



Be* 



These two simple exercises admit of infinite varia- 
tion and extension, with gradually increasing difn- 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 175 

culty, into the whole field of design and of construc- 
tion from working drawings. 

Exercise 8 

Exercises in basketry, sewing, leather, bookbind- 
ing, etc. The child is to be allowed to progress 
in the making of his article as rapidly as possible. 

Drawing and Constructive Work in Connection 
with the Teaching of Reading 1 

The plan of manual work here given is the one 
worked out to accompany the story reading in the 
first year at P. S. 137, Miss Marietta J. Tibbits, 
Principal. 

One of the most valuable suggestions given regard- 
ing the Manual Training Course is that all the work 
of a class shall be grouped around a definite center 
of interest. I like that last word interest. Good 
teachers have always planned their drawing some- 
times for a week, a month, a term, trying conscien- 
tiously to cover all the points they felt were required 
by those in authority. By the introduction of the 
word interest these more or less formal plans are made 
alive. The teacher must approach her work from 

1 Reprinted by permission from School Work, Volume 7, Number 1. 



176 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

a different point of view. It is not a question only 
of what she thinks wise, she must also decide whether 
the subject will be a center of interest for her class. 
Before reaching this decision, she must consider two 
questions : — 

1. Does it make a direct appeal to the child's 
normal and healthy interests by starting with some- 
thing he already knows ? 

2. Does it offer an opportunity to create, intensify, 
and direct new interests through observation and 
imagination ? 

So the work of the class is unified and given an 
aim. The wisdom of her choice of subjects can only 
be told by watching the children at work. The in- 
terest is the pulse of the class, and the wise teacher 
keeps her ringer always on it. Only so can she judge 
whether all is well, not only with the children but 
with herself. Before deciding that the center she 
has chosen is too difficult for the class, she must ask 
herself if she is giving to it the enthusiasm which will 
breathe into it the breath of life. President Eliot 
has said, " Children are not worked to death but bored 
to death." Let us not be guilty of that crime. No 
more time was given to it than the schedule requires. 
Indeed, less time is needed, because the preparation 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 177 

is found in the language work. There is an inex- 
haustible store from which to draw material for con- 
versation and nature lessons. 

This is in brief a conversation lesson preparatory 
to the drawing of "The Little Red Hen" : — 

(a) A short review of the nature lesson on the 
cock and hen. 

(b) Would you like a little red hen for a pet? 
(All delighted.) 

(c) If you had one for a pet, how would you treat 
her ? Be good to her. 

(d) If you are good to her, what must you do ? 
Feed her. 

(e) What would you feed her ? Corn. 

This afternoon we will draw pictures of ourselves 
feeding our little red hen. 

So with every story there is some lesson of nature 
or ethics that appeals to the children. 

The teachers did not feel such work a burden. 
Perhaps they shared the work and so found a center 
of interest for themselves. 

There is no difficulty in finding subjects for the 
lessons. The children, with their vivid imaginations 
and power to make believe, suggest endless topics. 
The only difficulty lies in a discriminating choice. 



178 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

The children do not find the drawing difficult. 
When I asked one of the 1 A teachers how she man- 
aged to get the children to make the hencoop and 
little red hen, she replied, "Oh, they love it!" 

No doubt this is true because of the opportunity 
given to the child to express his own personality. 
The story of "The Kid" is his story, and the first 
lesson is a pose drawing of a child to represent him- 
self as the boy whose father bought a kid. In a 
class of girls this pose drawing would be of a girl. 
So the child is led from his individual interest to 
the lesson of mutual dependence and helpfulness in 
the story of "The Old Woman" and her beautiful 
bush of berries. 

Each story is illustrated by the children, and in- 
terest is increased by placing their illustrations on 
charts on the wall. An opportunity is given, when 
group work is finished, for the children to make or 
draw something else that will help to tell the story. 
This free illustrative work has been very clever in 
many cases. 



i8o 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



Object 
Drawing. 

Child's shoe 



i. THE KID 
Construction. 



Illustrative. 



Pose, child 
(His own story) 

Pose, father 



Father buying kid 



Child's shoe 

Child's mitten 

(Tearing) 
Father's hat Father's coat 

(Cutting) 

Father's hat 

(Tearing) 
Pail Pail 

(To carry water Butcher's apron 

to quench fire) (Cutting) 
Butcher's knife Butcher's knife Butcher with knife 

Butcher's hatchet 

(Cutting) 
Objects and toys are used as models for the object 
drawing and construction. The object is purposely 
repeated each week in the construction lesson, as 
it can then be used as seat work, the child working 
alone. This repetition also gives a vivid mental 
picture for the illustrative drawing. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 181 




1*2 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



2. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT 



Object 


Construction. 


Illustrative. 


Drawing. 






Bag of malt 


Bag of malt 


Jack building 




(Tearing) 


house 




House 






(Folding and 






Cutting) 




Hammer 


Shovel 


Milkmaid 




Ladder 


(Maiden all for- 




(Cutting) 


lorn) 


Cock 


Table 


Wedding 




Chair 


(Maiden all for- 




(Folding and 


lorn and man 




Cutting) 


all tattered 

and torn) 



The tools are those Jack used to build the house. 



PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 183 




^fjfa *u*+v& "^ihMc^ ft*w* 









1 1 




184 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



3. THE LITTLE RED HElN 



Object 


Construction. 


Illustrative. 


Drawing. 






Red hen 


Hencoop 
(Folding and 

Cutting) 
Red hen 
(Cutting) 


Girl feeding hen 


Watering can 


Watering can 

Rake 

(Cutting) 


Girl watering corn 


Wheelbarrow 


Mill 


Miller 




(Folding and 


(Giving meal to 




cutting) 


red hen) 




Pin wheel 






(Wheel for mill) 




Stove 


Wheelbarrow 


Woman 




(Cutting) 


(Baking bread for 
red hen) 




Rolling-pin 






(Tearing) 






PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 1 85 




~W* 




186 TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 

4. THE CAT AND THE MOUSE 



Object 


Construction. 


Illustrative 


Drawing. 






Cat 


Cat 
Basket 

(Cutting) 


Girl feeding cat 


Butcher's 


Baker's cart 


Farmer 


cleaver 


(Cutting) 

Counter 

(Folding) 




5. THE 


OLD WOMAN 


AND HER PIG 


Object 


Construction. 


Illustrative. 


Drawing. 






Broom 


Broom 

Dustpan 
(Cutting) 


Woman sweeping 


Push cart 


Push cart 


Woman carrying 




Pocketbook 


basket 




(Cutting) 




Clock 


Stile 


Woman driving 


(At midnight) 


Pig 




Fence 






(Folding and 






cutting) 





PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 187 



tUu. (SJU. Yh™s*~ *"*£ t&Z fi# 




1 88 



TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY 



The reason for the selection of the push cart to 
illustrate going to market was that the children in 
this neighborhood are only familiar with the push- 
cart market. 

6. THE WOMAN AND HER BEAUTIFUL 
BUSH OF BERRIES 



Object 


Construction. 


Illustrative. 


Drawing. 






Horseshoe 


Horseshoe 


Smith 




Ax 


(Making shoes) 




(Cutting) 




Bush 


Tongs 


Woman 




(Cutting) 


(Picking berries) 




Bush 






(Tearing and 






coloring) 





PLANS AND TYPES OF SEAT WORK 189 



*u ^U 7h* 



i^iu. tit+xft &^ i /2 ^ /VUM 




INDEX 



Addition, seat work in, 134. 
Advantages of Group System, 

12-23. 
Arithmetic, seat work in, 39, 

133-146. 

Basis of classification, 34 ; constant 
groups, 34; shifting groups, 35. 

Basketry, seat work in, 175. 

Batavia plan of promotion, 7. 

Beads, stringing, as seat work, 171, 
39- 

Cambridge plan of promotion, 6. 

Cardboard construction, seat work 
in, 169-174; correlated with 
Reading for seat work, 180- 
189. 

Care of materials for seat work, 81. 

Classification into groups, 34; il- 
lustrations, 38. 

Composition, seat work in, 102- 
132. 

Constant group scheme, 24; in 
favor of, 27; arguments 
against, 28; how to classify, 34. 

Correction of seat work, 74. 

Counting, seat work in, 39-40, 
171. 

Cutting, seat work in, 180-189; 
correlated with Reading for seat 
work, 180-189. 

Demand on teacher's time, 21. 
Design, seat work in, 172-173. 
Devices for seat work, 74, 86-189. 
Directions for seat work, 79. 



Discipline as affected by Group 
System, 14; as an aid to disci- 
pline, 18. 

Distribution of materials for seat 
work, 82. 

District Schools, 1; the beginning 
of education, 1. 

Division, seat work in, 134, 141- 

145- 

Drawing, seat work in, 170; cor- 
related with Reading for seat 
work, 175-189. 

Education a principle of American 

government, 1. 
Elizabeth plan of grouping, 8. 
Exceptional child, neglect of, 5; 

providing for, 7-9. 
Experiments with Group System 

in New York City, 10. 

Fractions, seat work in, 142. 

Geography, seat work in, 156-165. 

German Blocking System of pro- 
motion, 7. 

Grade group plan, 26, 32. 

Graded school, 2; results for good 
or evil, 3. 

Grammar, seat work, 122-128. 

Group System an evolution and 
compromise, n; in special 
classes in New York, 9; limi- 
tations and advantages, 12-23. 

History, seat work in, 147-155. 
How to classify into groups, 35; 



191 



192 



INDEX 



into Shifting Groups, 35; illus- 
trations, 38. 

Illustrations of classifying into 
groups, 38. 

Illustrative drawing, seat work in, 
180-189; correlated with Read- 
ing for seat work, 180-189. 

Instruction period, 58-67; pur- 
poses of, 58-60; seating during, 
61-67. 

Keep every child busy, 79. 

Language, seat work in, 102-132. 
Letter Writing, seat work in, 119- 

122. 
Limitations of Group System, 12-23. 

Manual training, value of, as seat 
work, 56; correlated with Read- 
ing for seat work, 175-189; 
types of seat work in, 166-188. 

Map study, seat work in, 157-165. 

Meaning and Use of Words, seat 
work in, 129. 

Measurements, seat work in, 169- 

173- 
Memory Gems, seat work in, 117, 

118. 
Multiplication, seat work in, 134, 

139-145- 

Number, seat-work exercises in 
first year, 39. 

Paper, folding, seat work in, 180- 
189; correlated with Reading 
for seat work, 180-189; cutting 
and tearing, 180-189. 

Paragraphing, seat work in, 109, 
in, 114, 118. 

Penmanship, in relation to seat 
work, 71. 



Phonics, seat work in, 88-91, 93, 
95-99, 132. 

Planning work easier under Group 
System, 47. 

Plans for seat work, 86. 

Problems in arithmetic, seat work 
in, 139. 

Programs, 20; as a difficulty, 20; 
essential considerations, 55; the 
daily program, 47-57; time as- 
signments, 48; typical programs, 
51-54; writing a time schedule, 
50. 

Pueblo plan of promotion, 6. 

Pupil teachers in seat work, 80. 

Pupil teacher plan of promotion, 7. 

Purpose of instruction period, 58- 
60. 

Reading, correlated with Manual 
Training for seat work, 175-189; 
grouping apt to be constant, 45; 
seat work in, 86-101. 

Reform of methods of teaching, 3. 

Reproduction, seat work in, 116. 

Seating during instruction period, 
61-67; plans for, 61-67. 

Seat work: aims of, 68; as a dif- 
ficulty, 13; basketry, 175; cor- 
rection of, 74; counting, 171; 
care of materials, 81; cardboard 
construction, 169, 170, 174, 180- 
189; definite assignment, 77; 
distribution of materials, 82; 
design, 172, 173; division, 141- 
145; drawing, 170, 175-189; 
every child busy, 79; fractions, 
142; geography, 156-165; gram- 
mar, 122-128; history, 147-155; 
interest in, 72; illustrative draw- 
ing, 1 80-1 89-; manual training, 
167-189; map study, 157-165; 
multiplication, 139-145 •, meas- 



INDEX 



J 93 



urements and comparisons, 169, 
170, 173; penmanship, 71; prac- 
tical management, 79-85; pupils 
teachers in, 80; phonics, 88-91, 
93, 95, 99, 132; paper cutting, 
180-189; questions and direc- 
tions, 79; real study, 69; rela- 
tion to course of study, 70; 
reading, 86-101 ; supervision of, 
75; saving devices for, 74; sew- 
ing, 172, 175; stringing beads, 
171; tables, 134-145; text-books, 
73, 146-155, 156-165. 

Sentence Structure, seat work in, 
102, 104, 107, 109, in, 117, 122, 
127, 129. 

Sewing, seat work in, 172, 175. 

Schemes of grouping, 24; constant 
group plan, 24; grade group 
plan, 26; shifting group plan, 

25- 

Shifting group scheme, 25; argu- 
ments against, 31; how to class- 
ify into, 35; in favor of, 30; 
illustrations, 38. 

Size of classes, 20. 



Special classes in New York City, 

the Group System in, 9. 
Special plans of promotion, 6. 
Spelling, seat work in, 96, 130- 

132. 
Study period, 68-85. 
Subjects in which to group, 44. 
Subtraction, seat work in, 134. 
Supervision of seat work, 75. 

Tables, seat work in, 134-145. 
Teachers' training in relation to 

Group System, 19. 
Telling time, seat work in, 133. 
Text-book, use of, as seat work, 

146-165. 
Time assignments on program, 48. 
Time schedule, 50. 
Type forms of statements, seat work 

in, 127-129. 
Types of seat work, 86. 

Variation in constitution of groups, 

44-46. 
Verbs, seat work in correction of 

errors, 122-127. 



A LIST OF BOOKS FOR TEACHERS 

Published by The Macmittan Company 



ARNOLD, Felix. A Text-Book of School and Class Management. 
Theory and Practice. Cloth. i2mo. xxii + 40Q pages. Index. $ 1.23 net. 

BAGLEY, William Chandler. Classroom Management : Its Principles 
and Technique. By William Chandler Bagley, Superintendent of the 
Training Department, State Normal School, Oswego, N.Y. 

Cloth. i2mo. xvii-{- 352 pages. $1.23 net. 

The Educative Process. Cloth. i2mo. xix +338 pages. $1.23 net. 

BUTLER, Nicholas Murray. The Meaning of Education, and Other 
Essays and Addresses. By Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Colum- 
bia University. Cloth. i2?no. xii + 230 pages. $1.00 net. 

CHUBB, Percival. The Teaching of English. By Percival Chubb, Princi- 
pal of High School Department, Ethical Culture School, New York. 

Cloth. i2ino. xvii-\- 411 pages. $1.00 net. 

COLLAR, George, and CROOK, Charles W. School Management and 
Methods of Instruction. By George Collar and Charles W. Crook, 
London. Cloth. 121110. via -+- 336 pages. $1.00 net. 

CRONSON, Bernard. Methods in Elementary School Studies. By 
Bernard Cronson, A.B., Ph.D., Principal of Public School No. 3, Borough 
of Manhattan, City of New York. Cloth. i2??w. 167 pages. $1.23 net. 

Pupil Self-Government. Cloth. i2mo. ix + 107 pages. $.gonet. 

CUBBERLEY. Syllabus of Lectures on the History of Education. With 
Selected Bibliographies and Suggested Readings. By Ellwood P. Cub- 
berley, Associate Professor of Education, Leland Stanford Junior Univer- 
sity. Second Edition, revised and enlarged. In two parts. 

Part I, v-\- 12Q pages, $ 1.30 net ; Part II, xv +361 pages, $ 1.30 net. 

Complete in one volume, $ 2.60 net. 

DE GARMO, Charles. Interest and Education. By Charles De Garmo.. 
Professor of the Science and Art of Education in Cornell University. 

Cloth. i2?no. xvii-\- 230 pages. $1.00 net. 

The Principles of Secondary Education. 

Vol. I, Studies. Cloth. i2mo. xii -f 2QQ pages . $1.23 net. 

Vol. II, Processes of Instruction, xii -f- 200 pages. $ 1.00 net. 

Vol. Ill, Processes of Instruction. In press. 

DEXTER, Edwin Grant. A History of Education in the United States. 

By Edwin Grant Dexter, Professor of Education in the University of Illinois. 
Cloth, xxi + 663 pages. 8vo. $2.00 net. 

DUTTON, Samuel T. Social Phases of Education in the School and the 
Home. By Samuel T. Dutton, Superintendent of the Horace Mann 
Schools, New York. Cloth. i2mo. ix + 239 pages. $1.23 net 

DUTTON & SNEDDEN. The Administration of Public Education in the 

United States. By Samuel Train Dutton, A.M., and David Snedden, 

Ph.D. With an Introduction by Nicholas Murray Butler, Ph.D., LL.D. 

Cloth, viii -\- 3Q3 pages . Bibliography. Index. i2mo. $1.73 net. 



A LIST OF BOOKS FOR TEACHERS — Continued 



FITCH, Sir Joshua. Educational Aims and Methods. Lectures and Ad- 
dresses by Sir Joshua Fitch, late Her Majesty's Inspector of Training 
Colleges. Cloth. xii-\- 448 pages. 121710. $1.25 net. 

Lectures on Teaching. Cloth, xiii +393 pages. i6mo. $1.00 net. 

GILMAN, Mary L. Seat Work and Industrial Occupations. A Practical 
Course for Primary Grades. By Mary L. Gilman, Principal of the Clay 
School, Minneapolis, Minn., and Elizabeth L. Williams, Principal of the 
Holmes School, Minneapolis, Minn. 

Fully illustrated. Cloth. 141 pages. Square i2mo. $.30 net. 

GANONG, William F. The Teaching Botanist. By William F. Ganong, 
Ph.D., Smith College. Cloth. i2tno. xi-\- 270 pages. $1.10 net. 

GRAVES, Frank P. A History of Education before the Middle Ages. By 

Frank Pierrepont Graves, Ohio State University. 

Cloth. 320 pages. Bibliography. $1.10 net. 

HALLECK, Reuben Post. The Education of the Central Nervous System. 

A Study of Foundations, especially of Sensory and Motor Training. By 
Reuben Post Halleck, M.A. (Yale) . 

Cloth. i2tno. xii + 238 pages. $1.00 net. 

HANUS, Paul H. A Modern School. By Paul H. Hanus, Professor of the 
History and Art of Teaching in Harvard University. 

Cloth. i2mo. x -f- 306 pages . $1.23 net. 

Educational Aims and Educational Values. By Paul H. Hanus. 

Cloth. i2mo. vii-\- 221 pages. $1.00 net. 

HERBART, John Frederick. Outlines of Educational Doctrine. By John 
Frederick Herbart. Translated by Alex. F. Lange, Associate Professor of 
English and Scandinavian Philology and Dean of the Faculty of the College 
of Letters, University of California. Annotated by Charles De Garmo, 
Professor of the Science and Art of Education, Cornell University. 

Cloth. Large i2mo. xi-\- 334 pages. $1.23 net. 

HERRICK, Cheesman A. The Meaning and Practice of Commercial Edu- 
cation. By Cheesman A. Herrick, Ph.D., Director of School of Com- 
merce, Philadelphia Central High School. 

Cloth. xv-\- 378 pages . i2mo. $1.23 net. 

HORNE, Herman Harrell. The Philosophy of Education. By Herman 
Harrell Home, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Pedagogy in Dart- 
mouth College. Cloth. 8vo. xvii-\- 2Q3 pages. $1.30 net. 

The Psychological Principles of Education. By Herman Harrell Home. 

Cloth. i2ino. xiii -j- 433 pages. $1.73 net. 

HUEY, Edmund B. The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading. By Pro- 
fessor Edmund B. Huey, of the Western University of Pennsylvania. 

Cloth. i2mo. xvi -f- 46g pages. $1.40 net. 

KILPATRICK, Van Evrie. Departmental Teaching in Elementary 
Schools. By Van Evrie Kilpatrick. 

Cloth. i2mo. xiii -f- 130 pages . i6mo. $.60 net. 



A LIST OF BOOKS FOR TEACHERS — Continued 



KIRKPATRICK, Edwin A. Fundamentals of Child Study. By Professor 

Edwin A. Kirkpatrick, Principal of State Normal Schooi, Fitchburg, Mass. 

Cloth. i2mo. xxi-j- 384 pages. $1.25 net. 

MAJOR, David R. First Steps in Mental Growth. A Series of Studies in 
the Psychology of Infancy. By David R. Major, Professor of Education 
in the Ohio State University. 

Cloth. xiv-\- 360 pages. i2mo. $1.25 net. 

THE McMURRY SERIES Eachr chthr t2mo . 

General Method. 

The Elements of General Method. By Charles A. McMurry. 

323 pages. $.qo net. 

The Method of the Recitation. By Charles A. McMurry and Frank M. 

McMurry, Professor of the Theory and Practice of Teaching, Teachers 
College, Columbia University. xi-\- 32q pages. $.go net. 

Special Method. By Charles A. McMurry. 

Special Method in Primary Reading and Oral Work with Stories. 

vii + 103 pages. $.60 net. 

Special Method in the Reading of English Classics. 

vi -f 254 pages. $ .73 net. 

Special Method in Language in the Eight Grades. 

viii + IQ2 pages. $.70 net. 

Course of Study in the Eight Grades. 

Vol.1. Grades I to IV. vii + 236 pages. $.75 net. 

Vol.11. Grades V to VIII. v-\- 226 pages. $.75 net. 

Special Method in History. vii + 2gi pages. $.73 net. 

Special Method in Arithmetic. vii + 225 pages. $.70 net. 

Special Method in Geography. xi+ 217 pages. $.70 net. 

Special Method in Elementary Science. ix -f 273 pages. $.73 net. 

Nature Study Lessons for Primary Grades. By Mrs. Lida B. McMurry, 

with an Introduction by Charles A. McMurry. xi-\- iqi pages. $.60 net. 



MONROE, Paul. A Brief Course in the History of Education. By Paul 
Monroe, Ph.D., Professor in the History of Education, Teachers College, 
Columbia University. Cloth. 8vo. xviii-\- 409 pages. $1.23 net. 

A Text-book in the History of Education. 

Cloth, xxiii + 277 pages. i2mo. $i.qo net. 

A Source Book of the History of Education. For the Greek and Roman 

Period. Cloth. xiii-\- 313 pages. 8vo. $2.23 net. 

O'SHEA, M. V. Dynamic Factors in Education. By M. V. O'Shea, Pro- 
fessor of the Science and Art of Education, University of Wisconsin. 

Cloth. i2mo. xiii + 320 pages . $1.23 net. 

Linguistic Development and Education. 

Cloth, zsrno. xvii -f- 347 pages. $1.25 net. 



A LIST OF BOOKS FOR TEACHERS— Continued 



PARK, Joseph C. Educational Woodworking for Home and School. By 
Joseph C. Park, State Normal and Training School, Oswego, N.Y. 

Cloth. i2mo. xiii-\- 310 pages, illus. $1.00 net. 

PERRY, Arthur C. The Management of a City School. By Arthur C. 
Perry, Jr., Ph.D., Principal of Public School No. 85, Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Cloth. i2mo. viii+ 330 pages. §1.25 net. 

ROWE, Stuart H. The Physical Nature of the Child. By Dr. Stuart H. 
Rowe, Professor of Psychology and the History of Education, Training 
School for Teachers, Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Cloth. i2mo. vi-\- 211 pages. $.go net. 

ROYCE, Josiah. Outlines of Psychology. An Elementary Treatise with 
some Practical Applications. By Josiah Royce, Professor of the History 
of Philosophy in Harvard University. 

Cloth. X2mo. xxvii-\- 3Q2 pages. $1.00 net. 

SHAW, Edward R. School Hygiene. By the late Edward R. Shaw. 

Cloth, vii -{- 233 pages. i2mo. $1.00 net. 

SHURTER, Edwin DuBois. The Rhetoric of Oratory. By the Associate 
Professor of Public Speaking in the University of Texas. 

Cloth. 323 pages. i2mo. $1.10 net. 

SMITH, David E. The Teaching of Elementary Mathematics. By David 
E. Smith, Professor of Mathematics, Teachers College, Columbia Uni- 
versity. Cloth, xv + 312 pages. i2mo. $r.oonet. 

SNEDDEN and ALLEN. School Reports and School Efficiency. By David 
S. Snedden, Ph.D., and William H. Allen, Ph.D. For the New York 
Committee on Physical Welfare of School Children. 

Cloth. i2mo. xi + 183 pages. $1.50 net. 

VANDEWALKER, Nina C. The Kindergarten in American Education. 
By Nina C. Vandewalker, Director of Kindergarten Training Department, 
Milwaukee State Normal School. 

Cloth. xiii-\- 2J4 pages. Portr., index, i2mo. $1.23 net. 

WARNER, Francis. The Study of Children and Their School Training. 

By Francis Warner. Cloth, xix + 264 pages. i2mo. $1.00 net. 

WINTERBURN AND BARR. Methods in Teaching. Being the Stockton 
Methods in Elementary Schools. By Mrs. Rosa V. Winterburn, of Los 
Angeles, and James A. Barr, Superintendent of Schools at Stockton, Cal. 
Cloth. xii-\- 333 pages. i2mo. $1.23 net. 



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